


As Close As I Can Get

by lemyh



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-17
Updated: 2013-03-17
Packaged: 2017-12-05 15:10:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 35,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/724698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lemyh/pseuds/lemyh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It hadn't been raining too hard when Stiles had left the house on his bike. It'd been a slight drizzle, nothing to worry about, but now it was pouring and Stiles was drenched. Of course out of every other day of the year his jeep had to break down and be put into the shop today. Of course. That was Stiles' luck. He was a lucky guy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	As Close As I Can Get

**Author's Note:**

> This started as something small and sort of spiraled from there. I hope you enjoy it! Thank you for reading.

It hadn't been raining too hard when Stiles had left the house on his bike. It'd been a slight drizzle, nothing to worry about, but now it was pouring and Stiles was drenched. Of course out of every other day of the year his jeep had to break down and be put into the shop today. Of course. That was Stiles' luck. He was a lucky guy.

He pedaled faster, eyes squinted so that he could still see. The road was empty so he wasn't worried about being turned into a Stiles shaped speed bump. He just really needed to get off the road and to his destination before something did happen.

He slid through the gate with a grimace and propped his bike up next to the entrance. He smoothed his quickly drenched clothes down and made his way through the cemetery. He waved in his mind to the names he passed every time he came. Some of them he knew. Most he didn't.

Two rows and five columns, between Beatrice Franklin and George Baker, was Ellen Samantha Stilinski. Known affectionately as Sam or Sammy, Stiles' mom had passed away only five years before.

_Loving daughter, wife, and mother._

Stiles had watched his mother deteriorate, watched his father lose grip a few times. And no matter how often the guidance counselors or therapists said it got easier. It didn't. When it came down to it, he missed his mom.

Caught up with werewolves and alpha packs and lying to his father, Stiles had almost forgotten what the day was. Had almost forgotten how it'd been exactly five years since his mom's heart monitor had finally stopped beating. Five years since he had gripped his mom's hand and begged her not to go. Five years since his dad had pulled him out of the hospital room and into a tight hug, as if the pain from the hug would ever outweigh the pain from the loss.

The flowers were new, the petals drooped under the rain, but ultimately the grave looked how it always did. He knelt down, felt the water soak his pants, and scrubbed his fingers over the etched words and the flower image in the stone.

His dad had nodded and looked distant when Stiles had told him where he was going before school. He hadn't hidden his wince well enough, not that Stiles intended on calling his dad out on it.

Stiles wasn't sure how long he sat there, knees pressed into the soggy ground, fingers outstretched towards his mom's tombstone.

"I try to put new flowers up once a week on graves that don't get visited much." Isaac's voice probably should have started Stiles more than it did. Instead it calmed him a bit.

"I don't like coming out here alone. And dad doesn't like coming out here at all. So thanks." It might have sounded like Stiles had brushed him off, but he was grateful. 

He straightened up and smiled at Isaac, tried his hardest to look contained and normal. By the look that Isaac gave him, he wasn't sure it worked.

"How did you know I would be out here?"

Isaac shrugged and looked down at the headstone before them.

"I worked here for a long time. It took some of the creepiness out to look at the headstone, to read the names and remember the dates. And Stilinski isn't a common name." 

Isaac was out there to check on him. Stiles wasn't even pack and yet there he was.

"We knew she was sick. She went in and the doctors told her point blank that she was dying. Nothing to do besides accept it. Dad said we should get more tests, had to be something, but mom just smiled and said what's done is done. I don't think I've forgiven her for not fighting it, for not..." He hadn't forgiven her for dying. Death was part of life, sure. And Stiles knew that now more than ever. It didn't mean he had to accept it. It didn't mean he had to get over it. His anger was all that he had. Once that was gone, he'd be stuck just missing her.

"My mom left when I was seven. The week after my birthday. We used to be a happy family. Mom, dad, Camden and me. But after mom left, everything changed," Isaac's voice caught in his throat but he pushed the words out. "It wasn't my fault I looked like her."

Isaac didn't sound broken anymore but he still shrunk back whenever Derek got mad. Not that Stiles blamed him because Derek could definitely be scary, but it was more than that. Even with his speed and strength, Isaac was still scared. That alone soothed Stiles' own fear of things out of his hands.

"Do you blame her for leaving?" Stiles wasn't sure what he expected Isaac to answer with, but he wanted to know.

"She didn't just leave dad, she left us." It was and wasn't a real answer. Stiles tried again.

"What if he hit her before? And she left because she couldn't handle it?" This wasn't a conversation Stiles actually wanted to have. He didn't want to remind Isaac of what was obviously a difficult conversation.

"If he hit her, why did she leave us there?" 

And Stiles really hadn't thought of it that way, so he nodded. That left him with nothing left to say, not that Isaac looked like he wanted to have a conversation about it anyways. He wrapped his arms around himself, grateful that the rain had mostly let up.

"How is Erica?" Stiles hadn't seen her since the final fight with the alpha pack and she had been on the other side.

Boyd had come back alone before the alphas showed themselves, explained that Erica had been taken and he had been released. After that it was attack after attack. It left Stiles dizzy how often he'd get a text that something had gone wrong. How often he'd stay awake as he wondered if his dad was okay. The alphas had seemed like they were just playing with them, circling them and testing them. It never seemed like it would end until that final fight.

Derek had said that Erica had been brain washed, called it a form of mind control. In the end, she had fought the control just hard enough that Derek had been able to reassert his control over her. The blow had rocked the main alpha enough that Derek had been able to kill him.

They then killed each alpha that was there. Stiles hadn't even blinked an eye before helping. Something about them being a full alpha pack kept the betas from turning. It was confusing and of course Derek didn't offer any information. Not that he was particularly loose lipped on the best of days.

"She is okay, mostly. I don't know, Derek says it is just the backlash from the mind control. She is quiet and every now and then she gets really angry. She attacked Derek a couple of days ago but he put her back in submission.

Stiles wondered how long that would last. Surely if she kept being a threat, Derek would just have to kill her. There had to be something they could do.

He tossed a look up to Isaac and saw it reflected back in his eyes.

"Should get to school. You need a ride?" 

Stiles jerked his thumb towards the gate where his bike was propped. Isaac shook his head and pulled Stiles in the direction of the other entrance, the one used the least. 

"Derek is driving me to school today. Come on, you can catch a ride."

Stiles opened his mouth to say it was fine but to spite him, the rain started to pour harder. There was even a flash of lightning followed by a loud clash of thunder.

"You've persuaded me. Let's go."

Isaac led him through the cemetery to the other parking lot. In the lot was the Camaro and in the Camaro was...

"I thought I was done taking in strays." Derek's voice was laced with sarcasm but at least he wasn't telling Stiles to walk.

"Just for that, I won't even apologize for dripping on your seats."

Stiles climbed into the backseat and tossed his book bag onto the seat next to him. He hadn't even noticed it on his back when he had been at the grave. He wanted to ask why they were there, why Isaac had been there to see if Stiles was at the graveyard on the anniversary of his mom's death, why Derek had offered to drive him to the graveyard to check, but he simply slumped backwards and tried to keep his eyes open.

He watched six werewolves be torn apart and lit on fire. Safe to say he wasn't sleeping well lately.

"I'm not running a half way house Stiles, get out." Derek's voice jerked Stiles out of the almost asleep state he was in.

"Coulda fooled me dude." Stiles climbed out of the car and rubbed his hand over his face before he stomped his way into the school.

Scott was the first person he saw. His face was tight, probably from having seen Stiles with Derek and Isaac. Oh well, Stiles hadn't really felt like pedaling his ass all the way to the school from the cemetery while it poured. Of course he could have called Scott and he probably would have picked him up, but Stiles hadn't thought that far.

He also hadn't thought about the fact that he was going to need someone to take him back to the cemetery so he could get his bike.

"You okay dude? You're soaked."

Stiles snorted as they made their way into the locker room. He had some clothes in his locker that probably didn't stink. At least much. There had to be something vaguely cleanish in there that was better than the clothes he was currently in.

"I went to the cemetery, caught a ride with Derek and Isaac." Stiles' voice was muffled as he tried to pull his shirt over his head.

"Dude I totally forgot about today. I knew it was this week. You okay?" Scott helped him pull the shirt off before he grabbed Stiles' shoulder in a show of solidarity that made Stiles want to smile.

"I'm cool. Oh hey, you remember to do that English homework? I'm just saying, it's crazy. I can't even remember hating Hemingway as much as I did last night."

Once Stiles was dressed, they went their separate way to class. Stiles half expected Erica's seat to be empty but there she was. Her jeans were still obnoxiously tight, how was she even breathing, but she wore a loose sweatshirt that offset the look. Her hair was pulled up in a pony tail, curls mostly in her face as she bent her head away from the class. Everyone kept shooting her glances but Stiles heaved a sigh and dropped beside her.

"As good as I am at math, this is a serious horrible thing to put us through at ass crack in the morning. Agreed?"

She shot him a smile, grateful, before they both turned to watch the teacher as she took attendance.

"Isaac said today is the anniversary of your mom. I'm sorry." He voice was soft, softer than Stiles had ever heard it, and it almost broke his heart. 

"It's okay. It sucks, don't get me wrong, but it's okay. How are you holding up?"

She winced as someone dropped a book and she lowered her head as she copied the equations from the board down. Her hand shook as she wrote the numbers down but she didn't say anything until she had them all copied down.

"I am okay until I'm around Derek. Then it's like I want to rip his throat out."

Stiles nodded because he knew that feeling, except he didn't have the ability. When he said as much, Erica laughed but it sounded forced.

"If it doesn't stop, he'll have to neutralize the threat. That's what he said." 

Well at least Derek was honest. Erica looked a little wide eyed as she stared down at her half finished equations.

"Stiles. If he has to..." He shook his head. There had to be a reason Derek hadn't killed her yet. He was usually a 'kill first, ask questions later' kind of guy. It didn't make sense that he wouldn't kill her unless he had some sort of plan. Not that that excused him from not telling them his plan. It involved them all. At the very least it involved Erica.

"We can figure it all out Erica. We can. Doesn't Batman always save the day? Don't worry about it." He was rewarded with one of Erica's more open smiles at their little inside joke before she rested her forehead on his shoulder.

"I'm just so tired Stiles. I haven't slept well since the alphas."

Stiles knew how that felt. He couldn't sleep more than an hour or so at a time before a flash of red or the sound of screams, the sound of flesh tearing and bones shattering, met his ears. He'd never forget the sight of Scott, hole in his stomach, as Boyd tried to tear the alpha's head off that had done the damage. It'd been horrible.

That in mind, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a full hug.

"Mr. Stilinski, you and Miss Reyes can be our volunteers to solve these first equations. Come on up."

They solved the equations and turned around to go back to their seats but Stiles paused before he sat. Somehow he had forgotten that Allison was in this class. Her eyes were trained on the two of them from the other side of the room. She nodded, the tiniest smile on her lips, and Stiles forced himself to return it.

She and Scott were still broken up but it was better this time. It was real, but neither of them seemed too terribly broken up about it. They were friends. Her dad had even helped with the alpha pack. But things were strained at the best of times.

He sat beside Erica and tried to keep her from glaring at Allison too hard. Ever since Allison had gone commando and had shot her and Boyd full of arrows, Erica hadn't been able to keep her claws to herself.

"It's over you know. Everything is back to crazy normal." 

She shook her head, eyes distant.

"I hope so."

\-------

Stiles saw any number of the werewolves that he had tried to evade on multiple occasions during the day. Scott was there between every class to ask if he was okay, like he expected Stiles to break down or something. And really, he'd done that once and that was the first anniversary so it was excusable. Erica was in most of his classes but he didn't mind running into her. She would look distant until Stiles told a joke or made a fool out of himself and then she would be herself again. Isaac looked like he wanted to corner Stiles a few times but he didn't. Not that Stiles could figure out what he would want to say. He also ran into, literally, Boyd twice as he was going to class. Boyd had raised an eyebrow and simply asked why Stiles was acting more spastic than usual.

Not that he had a good answer for that, but then again, he never did.

He even ran into Jackson, once again literally, on his way to the lunch room which had resulted in Stiles saying he gave up. Jackson had raised an eyebrow but hadn't said anything. Either he was in on the 'Stiles mom died today, give him a break' wave length or he just simply hadn't felt like being a douchebag to him.

Stiles had to admit that he was pretty sure it was the first one.

Lydia had warmed up to him since he drove into her ex-and-soon-to-be-current boyfriend. They never spoke of the conversation in his bedroom and once he returned all of the gifts, he found himself pretty certain he was more of an idiot that he thought. Lydia was amazing, more so than Stiles would ever be able to put into words, but they didn't know each other.

He was a step below Creepy Matt on the creepy scale, but now that he had figured that out, he pulled back. No longer tried to catch a breath of her perfume when she walked by. Stopped thinking of their wedding. Stopped wondering what it would be like to kiss her.

Well, mostly. He was still a healthy sixteen year old boy who faced death habitually. Sue him.

Even Lydia seemed concerned, asking him if he needed to talk when he was caught glaring at his locker as if it had personally offended him. He stared at her as if he had conjured her out of thin air before he shook his head.

"Did I miss the newsletter alerting everyone to the fact that today's the anniversary of my mom's death?" He slammed his hand against the locker on accident as he gestured. He opened it up and switched his books out with a groan.

"Have you forgotten that we all went to school together for a long time?" Her voice was condescending at Stiles shook his head, trying not to laugh. He slammed his locker a little harder than he probably should have and stared at the once-girl-of-his-dreams.

"Have you forgotten that you didn't know who I was until all of this started?" 

It was a low blow but Stiles didn't want to deal with it. Not today. He half wanted to skip classes but there was only a couple of weeks left of school before summer and he didn't want to get in trouble. Harris even seemed to leave him alone which would have been a high point if he didn't know why. 

He wasn't the only person who had lost a parent so why was everyone acting like it was the most horrible thing to happen? Maybe he should be happy, maybe be more appreciative that his friends cared enough to act this way, but he couldn't. Tomorrow he'd be grateful but today he was tired of it.

Isaac came up to him at the end of the school day, shouldering his book bag as they made their way out of the school.

"Listen, I am catching a ride with Scott to Deaton's today. You want to come?" It made sense because Isaac had said Derek was going to take him to school but hadn't said anything about getting him home. Stiles shrugged, checked his pockets to make sure he had his wallet and his phone, before he nodded.

"Yeah, let's go." 

Scott smiled when he saw Stiles with Isaac and motioned to the passenger seat. Stiles shook his head and slid into the backseat. They listened to whatever was on the radio the way there, with Isaac asking about the different pets. Stiles hadn't realized Isaac spent so much time at the vet, but he hadn't spent much time with Scott since the whole alpha pack thing. That had only been revolved the week before so it wasn't surprising.

"Dude, we were thinking about stopping for food after this, you wanna come?" Scott caught Stiles' eye in the rearview mirror and he shrugged. He needed to get back to the cemetery, grab his bike, maybe stop to see his mom again. He didn't want to say no right off though because Stiles was pretty sure he was the one that had canceled their last plan of hanging out.

They pulled up in front of the vet and all clambered out of the car. When they got there, they all snuck into the back where Deaton was giving a dog a shot. He nodded to the three boys, somehow not surprised to see that at least Stiles was a new addition, before he smiled and pat the Pomeranian before passing it over to Scott.

"Isaac, good to see you again. And Stiles. You're always welcome as long as it doesn't interfere with Scott's work." 

Isaac and Scott went around to visit with the animals that were familiar to them and Stiles found himself standing beside the usually locked filing cabinet that he knew had a few less-vet-more-supernatural items. The first drawer was open and Stiles cast a glance over to where Deaton was doing paperwork before he pulled it open just a bit more. There was something placed on top of a plain brown wooden box. The thing was some sort of medallion, a silver circle with a black trio of zigzags going across it. He bent down and pressed against it but jerked back when he heard a throat clear behind him.

"Do you know what that is?" Deaton wasn't telling him off, so there was that. Stiles shook his head and looked back at it. It had to be supernatural but it seemed so ordinary. Then again, so had that magic dust he'd sprinkled outside of the club that night and then again at the old Hale house during the final battle with the alphas.

"It's an amulet that keeps spells or charms from affecting the wearer." He pulled it out and sure enough there was a silver chain attached that Stiles hadn't seen. He handed it to Stiles who felt the weight of it. It was heavy, which surprised Stiles, but cool to the touch. He turned it over and saw the other side was a mirror image of the first.

"Let me guess, you just have to believe?" Stiles wasn't being sarcastic because he'd done it. He'd believed and it'd worked. It'd saved their ass the second time since nothing really happened the first time. He hefted the amulet a few times before holding it out to Deaton.

"Why don't you hold on to it?" Deaton pushed the amulet back and Stiles accepted Deaton's strange ways to the point where he slipped it over his neck and tucked it under his shirt.

Deaton got called into the front of the office where someone had walked in. Isaac came out of the back room where they kept the dogs and smiled at Stiles.

"Come here." 

Stiles walked into the back where Isaac had been. Scott was further back, feeding the cats in the last room, but Isaac pointed to a cage where a puppy was. When it spotted Isaac and Stiles it started to growl and bark, only because he was so small, it sounded more like a chew toy than an actual threat. Plus it jumped when it barked. Stiles couldn't help the smile that came across his face at the sight.

"He kind of reminds me of Scott when he first got turned. There were times he thought he was bigger and badder than he actually was, but that didn't stop him."

Isaac laughed because yeah, maybe that was just a teenage werewolf thing instead of a Scott thing. Instead of asking, Stiles sat up and scrubbed his hand over his face.

"I need to go get my bike. Hopefully it hasn't been stolen or worse, rusted." 

Isaac stood up too and looked over his shoulder.

"You want me to give you a ride? I can borrow Scott's car." Stiles shook his head, hand unconsciously going to the amulet under his shirt, before smiling.

"Nah man, it isn't raining anymore and it's not that far from here. I'll be good. I'll send you a text when I get there if it's stolen or whatever." 

Isaac walked Stiles to the door after nodding to the man that had brought in his sick parakeet. He stepped out of the door and sniffed the air before nodding.

"Shouldn't rain again but you never know. Text me when you get home. I'll be here until Scott gets off work. We don't hear from you before then, we'll come looking for you." 

Stiles laughed and waved, saying goodbye to Scott and knew that he'd hear him even if he was in the office still. He trudged down two roads before he cut across a couple of yards, finally coming to the road that led to the cemetery. The ground was wet and there was the smell of rain on asphalt but it wasn't raining and Stiles was grateful for that.

His bike was still pressed against the gate. Stiles sighed in relief as he reached it. The gates would be shut soon so Stiles glanced out at the cemetery before deciding he should. He stumbled through the wet grass, two rows and five columns, before he found himself in front of his mom's grave again.

He knelt down and touched the second bouquet there, daisies. They were his mom's favorite. He smiled, knew his dad could stay away, and ran his fingers over the bouquet. He shifted it a bit before plucking one of the flowers from the back of the bouquet and putting it into his hoody pocket.

"Hey mom," He touched her name lovingly before he let his hand fall beside him. "I'm sorry I haven't been by a lot. It's been crazy. Last time I came, I think Scott had just been turned? A lot has happened since then. I'm doing things I never imagined possible and I'm seeing things I wish weren't possible. And I don't know mom, I kind of think you might have been proud of me. I'm taking care of Scott because he can't take care of himself. I'm standing up for my friends. I got the shit kicked out of me by some old dude because of it. I really wish you were here to see it mom. Well, not me getting my ass handed to me by some octogenarian, but me taking a stand. That's what I'm doing you know, taking a stand. It's messed up because it's like there are two packs and we should just be one, it'd be better. We end up fighting together anyways, right? But Scott, he's the werewolf. It's up to him. And I'm there for him; I'm not leaving him to fend for himself. Especially not now when he's basically alone. He has Isaac, but Isaac's loyalties lie with Derek and..."

He rambled for what felt like eternity, until the sky started to darken with rain again. He took a deep breath before saying goodbye to his mom, telling her he loved her once more, before standing and making his way back to the gate. He got on his bike, waving to the elderly woman who was also leaving, and pedaled quickly. He wanted to beat the rain.

He left his bike next to the garage and trudged into the house, soaked once more. His dad wasn't home so he went upstairs and grabbed his clothes before he made his way into the shower. He peeled the wet clothes off and left them in a heap next to the door, before he stepped under the spray.

Stiles was mostly done when he noticed the amulet was still on his neck. He traced his fingers over it but ultimately decided to leave it. Out of the shower, he dried off and slid some comfortable clothes on. He grabbed his wet clothes and shook his head as he realized that he'd left his wet clothes from this morning in his locker. He really needed to empty that out before it because a hazard to his health.

He grabbed some more dirty clothes and made his way to the laundry room downstairs to do a load. Once that was done he went into the living room and turned on the television and channel surfed until he got bored and made his way upstairs. He sent a quick text to Scott and Isaac to let them know he was home before he plopped down in front of his desk and turned his computer on.

Honestly he hadn't even thought about it when he started to Google but soon enough he was looking at images of the amulet around his neck. Sure enough they all said it was to keep charms and spells from affecting the wearer and wasn't that a good thing. He rubbed his finger over it and then dropped his hand.

Tired. He didn't think about it, but he was tired. He turned off his computer and dropped onto his bed, face first. His dad wouldn't be home until late tonight. Stiles didn't care that it was not even six in the afternoon, he was tired. Exhausted.

He shifted until the amulet wasn't pressed into his collarbone and closed his eyes. A little sleep and he'd feel better.

\-------

_The ground was solid under Stiles' back, his chest heaving. He'd be covered in bruises but that was the least of his problems. He rolled onto his stomach and looked around. He couldn't make out the differences between the alphas and the Beacon Hills teenage werewolves. They were all a blur of teeth and growling and claws. He couldn't see their eyes, that'd be the only way he could tell them apart from this distance._

_How did he get this far away? He had to finish the circle, he had to hold it open for the packs, he had to..._

_He was flipped over and onto his back once more. There was a foot on his chest, pressing down. It hurt so much more than when it had been Matt's foot and he'd been paralyzed. His fingers gripped the ankle but he wasn't strong enough. The foot kept pushing, red eyes gleamed above him. It pushed and pushed. Stiles could feel his bones bend. They couldn't withstand the pressure of the werewolf. It was going to break, it was going to, it was. He couldn't breathe. He sunk his human nails into the ankle and tried to move but he couldn't breathe. He was going to die out here._

_All at once, he felt his bones give way to the foot and--_

Stiles jerked up, drenched in sweat and panted a few breaths before he realized he was in his bed, his bedroom, alive. That wasn't how it had happened, he didn't die. The alpha had pressed his foot against Stiles' sternum, had stepped hard and had laughed when Stiles tried to get away, but then Derek had come out from nowhere, pulled him off, and wrenched his neck around like it was nothing. He hadn't even thanked Derek for saving him. Just got up, leaned against the tree, and panted until he could finish the circle.

His skin felt drawn tight as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed. The clock said it was just after midnight so his dad would be home, would already be asleep. He ran his hand over his face before he stood up, legs tense, and made his way into the bathroom.

Lock the door behind you, he told himself. Once it was locked, he took off his shirt and stared at the mostly faded bruise on his chest. The ones on his back were gone, turned yellow against his pale skin, but this one was still dark and vivid. He could make out the shoe print, right over his sternum. If the alpha hadn't wanted to play with him before he killed him, if he had just kicked down, Stiles would have died.

He shook his head and tugged on the amulet that hung from his neck until the bottom of the circle touched the top of the shoe print. It calmed him, although he wasn't sure why.

Once he pulled the shirt back on, he went back into his bedroom and stared at his bed. He slept a lot longer than he usually did and that screwed him over. He wouldn't be able to get back to sleep now, not with that dream still over his head.

Instead of sitting at his computer or doing homework, which he really should do, he slid into a pair of shoes and grabbed his house key. He was careful to be quiet although his dad had a tendency of not waking after late shifts. Down the steps, quiet as can be, across the living room, open the door slowly so it wouldn't squeak, and then he was on the porch.

Usually he'd get into his jeep and leave but since he only had a bike, he pulled it away from the garage and hopped on. He pedaled hard, pushed himself to get further away from the house and therefore further away from the dream.

Sometime after he had been knocked over by the alpha, because that's how he'd ended up on his back in the first place, and after Derek had killed him, Stiles had seen Scott fall. A hole in his abdomen, hands pressed against it as if he was trying to hold everything in. Boyd had rushed over and attacked the alpha that was about to kill him. To think that it started as them all meeting up to discuss a trap. They wanted to trap the alphas in a mountain ash circle, that had been the plan. Everything went to hell after that.

The sound of a bird cawing above him brought Stiles back to the present. He looked around and felt his stomach drop. He was in the small opening where it had taken place. He couldn't still smell the blood but it wasn't too much of a stretch. He dropped his bike and strode over to where he had started the mountain ash circle but it was gone. He traveled around the area until he was back to where he'd fallen. He braced himself against the tree he'd used that night and took a deep breath. This wasn't a good idea, he shouldn't be here. 

The alphas were gone but it seemed that once one problem was gone, the next one was there. Outside after midnight was like tying a bow around his neck and saying 'Hey, I'm human and stupid, eat me!'

Bad word choice.

There was a figure in the distance that Stiles first thought was a tree but the more he looked at it, the more he realized that trees were rarely that human shaped and rarely had two little circles that were red and glowy. Stiles couldn't help but wonder how Derek knew where he was but he came up short when he realized that he knew what Derek looked like from a distance and the human shape that was slowly approaching didn't fit. He was too short and his shoulders weren't as wide.

The closer the alpha got, the more Stiles wondered if he could reach into his pocket and dial a number without getting caught. His hand had barely twitched before he heard a rough laugh from the alpha. 

"They wouldn't get here in time." His voice was low and rough, like he'd been screaming or... howling or something equally disturbing. Stiles let his hand fall limp and tried to think of what he could do. 

All he could think about was how they had killed all of the alphas so unless this one pulled some serious zombie stunt, like Peter had...

"We didn't get all of you." The alpha stopped, still a good six or seven feet away, and smiled around his longer canines.

"You got all but me. Your alpha lacks common sense. Of course not all of our players would be present, just in case your tiny pack got the best of us. It's smart planning. Imagine my surprise when I started to feel each one die." 

The smile dropped and all that was left was a scowl, the same one that Stiles often saw on Derek's face. He was alone. But whereas Derek's scowl brought out a bit of sympathy from Stiles, this alpha's only brought out a little fear. He lifted his head and sniffed before the smile came back, predatory, but he still didn't move forward any.

"I am too weak to go after the pack yet but I can't just let the offense go, can I? So I came up with a better plan." The alpha raised his hand. Before Stiles could even think of letting out a scream, there was something in the air. It flew the space between them and slammed into Stiles' chest, throwing him effortlessly into the tree behind him. 

His eyesight was black in the corners but he zeroed in on the alpha's feet as they stopped beside him. He knelt down until he was eye-level with Stiles.

"You'll have a little headache but I wouldn't worry about that. You won't remember this when you wake up. You'll go home and when you wake up, you'll think everything is normal." 

Stiles opened his mouth, wanted to tell him that he was wrong, but instead he leaned over and threw up. His head throbbed and he reached a hand up to tenderly poke at it but he slumped and passed out before he could.

\-------

_"I swear this boy is always getting injured. Broke his arm when he was seven, broke his leg when was eight, stitches and sprains from nine until he was a teenager. It's a miracle I haven't had to see him since all of this werewolf business stuff started."_

Melissa's voice was soothing but at the same time stern. Stiles groaned as he opened his eyes and blinked a few times at the bright lights around him. Suddenly there was a hand on his arm.

"Stiles, you're awake, good. Sit up slow, you have a small concussion." She helped him sit up on the table and tilted his head up so that she could look into his eyes with a pen light. She seemed satisfied with whatever she saw. "It's not too bad, just a bump. What on earth were you doing in the woods at midnight though Stiles?"

Stiles blinked a few times and tried to focus on what happened but all he could remember was the nightmare and then getting on his bike...

"How'd I get here?" His voice came out as not much more than a croak. She handed him a cup with ice water and a straw in it but he pulled the straw out and downed as much of it as he could in one go. When he put it down, she tossed a look over her shoulder and sighed.

"You'll hear it anyways. Seems Derek Hale also likes to wander the woods after midnight and he came across you. Brought you here and dumped you in my lap. You're dad's waiting in the hall."

Oh great, just what he needed. He waved at Melissa, wordlessly asking that the sheriff be brought inside. She stepped into the hall and then both of them walked in. Stiles' dad looked tired, dressed in jeans and a long sleeve shirt, but he also looked serious.

"What the hell Stiles?" His voice was tired too, although it probably wasn't just because of the late night phone call.

Stiles dropped his head into his hands and rubbed his temples, trying to come up with a plausible lie.

_"Where did I go wrong? Sam would have been so much better at this. Bet he is trying to come up with a lie right now."_

Stiles' head jerked up and he stared at his dad. His dad seemed surprised by the sudden movement but he didn't open his mouth. Both he and Melissa looked like nothing had happened to warrant such a reaction. His dad... his dad never called his mom by her name, not around Stiles. 

"I'm not lying. I don't remember what happened. I had a bad dream and went for a ride and then I woke up here." 

His dad narrowed his eyes but then his face softened. It wasn't until his dad had wrapped an arm around his shoulders that he realized what that might have seemed like. A bad dream the night of the anniversary of his mom's death? He slumped into the hug and tried not to watch as Melissa also tried not to watch them.

"It's probably the concussion, John. Happens a lot; accident victims can't remember what caused the accident. Hale hadn't seemed to know what happened either." 

There was another narrowed eye look, from both adults, at the mention of Derek, but Stiles simply shrugged helplessly. He wondered how long he could keep up the innocent act before his dad finally asked how Stiles was always at the wrong place at the wrong time.

But Melissa knew, she knew about werewolves and Derek and Stiles' involvement. She didn't like it, had pressed Stiles to tell his dad a number of times, but she wasn't going to force him. 

"Is he good to go home Melissa?"

She nodded, pressed her lips together in a way that Stiles was used to seeing and knew that it meant disappointment, but she helped Stiles stand up and handed him a cold pack.

"You'll have one hell of a headache but it'll be okay. The doctor wrote you a note to get out of school tomorrow but after the weekend you should be okay for it." She handed the note to Stiles' dad and waved at them as they left the room.

Through the halls of the hospital, Stiles was forced to listen to the different conversations going on around him. He couldn't pick out any familiar voices but it all seemed so loud to him. His dad didn't seem to mind but soon enough they were outside.

As they slipped into the cruiser, Stiles rested his head on the glass and took a deep breath. He'd felt the knot on the back of his head when he'd skimmed his hand over his head, but it wasn't too big. He'd had worse at least.

_"I don't know what to do. He lies to me, he goes out in the middle of the night, keeps coming home with bruises. I didn't know how to ask about the ones on his back. Maybe he should go back to therapy."_

Stiles felt his throat tighten because his dad wouldn't say those things if Stiles could hear him. And unless his dad thought he was asleep, which wasn't likely, it meant... 

He tossed a glance at his dad whose face looked pinched, but not as if he'd been talking. He was about to say something but then there it was again. His dad's voice but this time, his dad's lips weren't moving.

_"His mom knew how to get through to him. I haven't missed her this much in years."_

Stiles tried to swallow down the bile that was quickly rising but he couldn't. He croaked out a warning to his dad and barely had time to open the door once they stopped on the side of the road before he started to get sick. His throat burned and he didn't have anything in his stomach to get rid of, but he tried.

"What's the matter son? Stiles?" He shook his head a little and took a few deep breaths before he sat up again.

"Symptom of the concussion dad, I'm okay. I'm okay." 

They waited on the side of the road for a while until Stiles had finally reassured his dad that he was okay. He didn't hear anything else and he slipped up the stairs before his dad could ask if he was okay again.

He could hear his dad's thoughts? He didn't want to think about it, but it had happened. More than once. He was reading his dad's mind? He propped himself on his bed and fingered the knot on the back of his head. Okay, so that was new. He forced himself to try to retrace his steps.

He'd gotten onto his bike and went for a ride. He remembered being in the woods. And then... Derek? No, it wasn't Derek. It was...

Stiles stood up so fast that he felt sick again. There had been an alpha and he'd thrown something at Stiles and it'd thrown him backwards. That explained the knot on his head. That also might explain the voices in his head. His chest felt tight and he tried to breathe through it, tried to will the panic attack to go away. He had to do something. There had to be something he could do. He couldn't listen to his dad's disappointed thoughts, not for the rest of his life. It'd tear him apart.

_"It's an amulet that keeps charms or spells from affecting the wearer."_

Hand on the amulet, Stiles made his way to his computer and booted it up. If that's what it was, some sort of enchantment, why did it work? Why could he now read minds? His stomach tightened as he Googled for hours but there wasn't anything he could find. Nothing solid at least.

He could see the sun rising and took a deep breath before he closed his laptop and moved back to his bed. He had barely pulled the blankets up to his chin when the door creaked open. He heard his dad step in, the light from the hall illuminating the room. He had his eyes mostly closed but could see his dad's shadow at the door.

_"He should sleep. I can check on him later. He's okay."_

And then the door was shut and he could hear his dad downstairs as he made himself a quick breakfast before he left. He rubbed a finger over the bridge of his nose and tried not to think, tried not to focus on anything. The pounding in his head seemed to have doubled and he just wanted to go to sleep. Wasn't like he had to go to school anyways.

His ringtone interrupted his sleep but when he picked it up, he noticed that not only had he slept for six hours, but he missed about six phone calls and even more text messages. He was pretty surprised he didn't wake up to Scott or someone hovering over his bedside.

After a brief debate, he called Scott back, eyes scrunched up from the light of his screen.

"Yo dude, sorry I haven't been answering. I was asleep." Stiles sat up and scrubbed the gunk from his eyes before he tried to stand up. It was lunchtime and he was definitely hungry.

"I was worried man," Scott's voice came out in a rush. "Derek told his pack that he found you in the woods and that you wouldn't wake up so he brought you to my mom. And my mom told me you had a concussion and that you'd be missing school. Are you okay?"

There were old takeout containers in the fridge, some pasta from two nights ago, and a box of pizza that he'd allowed to stay since his dad had been doing well on his diet for the most part. He pulled out the pasta and moved to the microwave.

"Yeah Scott, I'm fine. You at lunch?" He could hear a bunch of voices in the background, ambient noise that sounded a lot like the cafeteria. He was just glad he couldn't hear Scott's "inside voice".

"Isaac said Derek didn't know what happened but that he could smell an alpha. He didn't think it was left over from the fight or..." He left it open and Stiles paused with his fork halfway from the tupperware of pasta towards his mouth. 

He needed to talk to Deaton; he needed to talk to Derek. He didn't want to worry Scott more than he already was.

"I don't really want to talk about it over the phone. Come by after school and I'll tell you okay?" He was going to need a ride to Deaton's anyways. He could tell Scott was thinking about it but then there was a loud ringing noise over the phone that said lunch was over.

"Fine, I'll be there. Glad you're okay Stiles." 

They hung up and Stiles took a deep breath before he scrolled through his phone. Deaton came before Derek and he paused with his finger hovered over both names. He needed to talk to them both, needed to talk to Deaton and find out what the hell was wrong, needed to thank Derek and let him know what happened.

In the end, he didn't have to choose because his phone started to ring in his hand and he had to take the call.

"Hey Derek, I was just about to call you. Probably. Uh, I hear thanks are in order. For bringing me to the hospital and all that." And really he owed Derek another thank you. He stopped that alpha from killing him. One thing at a time.

"I was doing a sweep and noticed a strange scent. Followed it and found you asleep on a tree." Derek sounded like he wanted to tease Stiles for that but it wasn't the time.

"Scott said he heard from Isaac that Isaac heard from you that you thought you smelled some eau de alpha. Is that the strange scent you followed?" He finished the pasta and put the container in the sink to be washed.

"It smelled like the alphas that had been in town before only lessened, watered down. There was something else though, something I've never smelled before. And your scent. And don't ask me what your scent is."

Stiles closed his mouth because yeah, he definitely was going to ask, but he needed to play nice. Now wasn't the time.

"It was an alpha but--" He barely got any more words out before there was a loud growling sound. Stiles looked around because it sounded so close but no, it was just over the phone. "Would you stop that? Listen, he said that he wasn't at the fight because if something went wrong... well, yeah."

Derek's voice came back to him before Stiles could finish the story. "What did he do?"

Stiles thumped his hand against his thigh and thought about it. What did he do? Good question.

"He said he wasn't strong enough for the pack yet but he had a plan. Then it was like something floated from his hand to me and it knocked me on my ass. Literally. He said I wouldn't remember it but I do."

And he really couldn't help but touch the amulet at that. He remembered but there was something he didn't understand. He really did need to talk to Deaton.

"We should talk to Deaton about it. The Jeep is still in the shop right? I'll pick you up." 

Stiles opened his mouth to say that wasn't necessary, that he would catch a ride with Scott, but the dial tone told him otherwise. He made a face as he locked his screen and went upstairs to change clothes and barely had enough time to finish slipping his wallet, keys, and phone into his pocket before there was a loud knock on the door. He sighed and ran a hand over his face before he took the stairs two at a time.

Better to just get it over with.

\-------

The ride had been silent, eerily so. Stiles half expected Derek's inner monologue of 'I am the alpha, I am the alpha, I scare teenagers, I am the alpha' to be present, but it was silent. He thought maybe he could only hear his dad's mind, which would suck but be slightly easier to handle than being everyone's, but he had recognized the difference in Melissa's voice when he'd first woken up and when she'd helped him sit up. He'd heard her mind too.

Maybe he could only hear human minds. That would be good, especially since most of his inner circle these days were made up of werewolves. He could probably handle that. He skimmed his hand over the knot over his head and wondered if maybe it had all been some sort of delusion. Maybe he hadn't heard his dad's voice and it'd just been a hoax. Maybe he'd imagined it. Like the night at Lydia's party when he'd hallucinated his dad blaming him for his mom's death.

Yeah, he still had nightmares about that too.

"Get out." Derek's voice was surly and Stiles blinked out of his stupor. They'd been parked outside of the vet's office for a few minutes since he could no longer hear the ticking of the engine. He got out of the Camaro and slinked his way into the office. Deaton was at the counter and took one look at the two of them before he nodded to the door. Derek locked it and flipped the sign to say they were closed.

"Stiles. Derek. Something I can help you two with?"

Stiles didn't want to be there with someone when he explained that hey, Deaton, your pretty little necklace didn't keep me from being affected by someone's crazy magic, but he needed to talk about it. He took a deep breath and explained what happened as calmly as he could. He still wasn't sure he should mention that he thought he read Melissa's and his dad's mind until he heard Deaton's voice but his lips weren't moving.

 _"Alpha werewolves using magic isn't good news."_

With a shrug, Stiles figured it was better this way.

"You're telling me dude," He tried to ignore the looks that both Derek and Deaton were giving him. "Alpha werewolves are bad enough, but using magic? Bad news."

Derek looked confused but Deaton's face was impassive as always. He tried to smile but then he stepped forward, fingers going to Stiles' neck. He thought he saw Derek take a step closer but soon the amulet was in the open and Stiles felt like laughing.

"You should totally get a refund dude, because I don't think that thing worked." 

Deaton flipped sides of it and he sighed. He dropped it and went over to his cabinet, rummaging for something. Stiles pulled the amulet out far enough to see what Deaton had seen. It looked normal to him.

"That amulet only works when the caster of magic is a magic being, a human. It corrupts it if another supernatural being uses magic." Deaton pulled something out of the cabinet and pressed it against the amulet. Stiles couldn't see what happened but he heard a slight popping noise and Deaton jerked his hand back as if he was burned.

"Have you tried to take it off since it happened?" 

Stiles reached for the amulet and was surprised when he wasn't hurt like Deaton must have been.

"No, should I?" He moved as if to raise it off his neck but Deaton shook his head. It didn't matter because no matter how hard Stiles pulled, it was like it was stuck. He could lift it high enough to see it, but he couldn't get it over his head.

"The charm is activated. I didn't foresee a supernatural being using magic and therefore didn't think about the consequences Stiles, I apologize. You will not be able to remove the amulet until the caster is dead or the spell is broken."

Stiles let the amulet drop and he heaved a great sigh. Great, he was going to be the kind of guy that wore a necklace. He never saw that day coming.

"What's the spell? That he can read minds?" Derek sounded incredulous and Stiles was pretty sure he was right there with him, but Deaton shook his head.

"No, because how would that help the alpha that cast it? No, I think it was supposed to be a mind control spell that backfired." 

And really, that deserved a snort. Derek and Deaton cast Stiles a look and he laughed.

"Oh come on, only I could possibly have the luck to backfire a simple mind control spell into some sort of 'I can read human minds' thing." He could see that Deaton was trying not to smile, but he wasn't going a good job at it.

"Only humans?" Derek's question drew Deaton's smile back into a frown and they both looked at Stiles.

"Well I mean, I guess? I heard Melissa's and my dad's inner monologues and then Deaton's, but I was in the car with you for ten minutes and not a peep. So unless you're completely vacant minded, which is a possibility I guess, I don't think I can read werewolf minds."

Derek seemed to be thinking about it, and Deaton did too, so Stiles slumped against the wall. He was about to say he didn't mind not being subjected to the Werewolf Network because he didn't need the added stress, when he heard the front door unlock and Derek went rigid.

Scott came into the room and glared at everyone there. Stiles fumbled a bit with his pocket before he fished his phone out. He first checked the time and then his phone to see that yes, Scott had been calling and texting him, but his phone was on silent and he had missed each one.

"Shit, sorry dude. But we're all here now so, let's rehash this shall we? I ran into an alpha last night that tried to put some mind control spell on me but it backfired and now I can read minds."

And really, put it like that, Stiles was pretty sure Scott had reason to laugh in his face. Once he saw no one else was laughing, Scott swallowed his mirth and looked a little ill for it.

"Dude, read my mind." 

Stiles was about to open his mouth to say that he couldn't, but then Scott's voice was in his head.

_"You should have called me and not Derek."_

"Dude, I didn't call Derek, he called me! And what the hell, I thought I could only read human minds and Scott is not a human, what the hell?" Stiles huffed as he flailed his arms a bit to encompass the room at large and then slumped against the wall again. This sucked.

"Maybe it has something to do with the wording. Scott was allowing you to read his mind, he told you to. So maybe it requires consent on a werewolf." 

Stiles snorted and sat up, catching Scott's similar look.

"Dude, its mind reading, not a prom date. Fine! Okay, Scott, take the permission away. Let's see what happens." Stiles motioned to Scott who nodded.

"Stiles, don't read my mind."

Stiles waited and for his part, Scott looked like he was thinking something, so he had to believe that's how it worked.

"I'll do some research Stiles, figure out if there is a way to break the hold. Until then, do your best not to react. You'll probably hear a lot of voices at once sometimes and it'll get to be a bit much. Maybe you can claim to have a headache."

Stiles rubbed his forehead and nodded because there actually was a headache there. Maybe it was part of the concussion or maybe it was a side effect from reading minds. 

After telling Scott he'd call him later, he waved to Deaton and left the office, flipping the closed sign to say open as he did so. However he was drawn up short when he saw that his Jeep wasn't parked where he usually did when he was at the vet's office. He frowned at the black Camaro in front of him and then turned towards the street. It wasn't a long walk to his house. He had walked the distance before, more than once, but not with a head wound.

Also not when he could read minds.

"Need a ride?" 

Stiles looked over his shoulder where Derek was and shrugged. Couldn't hurt.

"Thanks." He seemed to be saying that to Derek a lot lately.

\-------

"Thanks for the ride. And for the uh, saving my life thing you did that night. With the alpha that was trying to kill me." He couldn't look at Derek while he said it because if he did, he would say something stupid, and he was making an effort to keep his stupid comments to himself.

"It was a good plan." 

That jerked Stiles out of his mood because while it had been a good plan, it had also been Stiles' plan. His very well thought out plan that would have worked if the alphas hadn't stumbled upon them before it was finished. He was going to do half of the circle and when the alphas got there, connect it. They'd be unable to get through and then Argent and his entourage were going to be there to put them out. But as it happened, the alphas got there before the trap was supposed to be set so Argent and the other hunters hadn't even gotten there until the fight was finished.

"I've been known to have a good plan once or twice." And that might be stretching it but Derek rolled his eyes, fingers flexed on the steering wheel, but he didn't move. Stiles sighed and scratched the back of his neck before he unlocked the door and pushed it open.

"Thanks again." Derek nodded, eyes catching in the sunlight as Stiles slipped from the car. He made his way to the house and fumbled with his key before he made it inside. It wasn't until the door was shut that he heard the Camaro speed off down the street. 

He popped a few aspirin in the kitchen and washed it down with a drink from the faucet before he went upstairs. His homework was spread out on his desk and he sat down to work on it. He didn't know when his dad would get home, what kind of things he'd hear if he was around his dad, so he put his headphones on and put on some music as he worked. 

Would Derek tell the others about what happened or would he leave that to Scott? Technically they didn't need to know, not like he wanted to hear their thoughts, but they would wonder why he'd be acting strange during school. Well, stranger than usual. And if Derek didn't tell them, would Scott? He and Isaac were good friends now and Isaac wasn't going to keep it from the pack. Good news really does travel fast.

He worked on his homework with half a mind but thankfully he didn't need much more than that. Between the music and the somewhat focus on his homework, Stiles missed the sound of his dad's car as he pulled in. He must have poked his head in the door but he didn't interrupt Stiles' homework thankfully. He pushed through, barely even noticed when his dad set a plate of healthy enchiladas next to his hand. He mumbled thanks as he tried to type up the last of his essay, but by time he got around to eating, the food was already a little cold.

Guilt made him go downstairs after he ate. He heard his dad in the living room watching television but he put his plate up before he went in there. His dad was propped up on the couch, the television on but obviously not having his dad's attention. Stiles wanted to open his mouth, wanted to let his dad know he was there, but something stopped him. It was dull at first but when he focused on it, he realized what it was.

_"...can't be animal attacks again, Beacon Hills doesn't have a bear problem just like they didn't have a cougar problem or a wolf problem. Those three bodies aren't even in Beacon Hills. Jim shouldn't have asked. Hope they aren't going to have all of the freaky stuff happen to them that happened here. People hallucinating dragons in clubs."_

Stiles slipped back up the stairs and went for his phone. He scrolled through his contacts until he came to Derek's number. He typed up a quick text and hesitated before he hit send. Three bodies, probably recently, out of the city but somehow it came across his dad's desk. Did the other sheriff, or whoever asked his dad to look at it, notice a similar thing in Beacon Hills before? Was it the alpha or omegas? 

He hit send.

**Just head something from my dad about three bodies in a neighboring city. Hope you didn't take the kids out for a late night snack somewhere.**

He dropped into his chair with a sigh, phone perched on the edge of his desk, and eyed his finished homework. He'd have the full weekend to do any homework he missed today. Just as he started to ponder the pros and cons of Googling the amulet some more, his phone buzzed.

**No.**

And before he could even feel disappointed that Derek didn't banter with him, another text came in.

 **And stop calling them the kids. You do know they could kill you without even trying?**

Stiles smirked because he knew deep down Derek was unable to resist whenever Stiles started.

**But they answer to you, they do whatever you tell them to, you drive them around. You're totally the dad.**

He tried not to laugh but the thought of the look that would be on Derek's face right then was too much and he started to cackle. Derek's eyebrows would be getting higher if he was incredulous and lower if Stiles was approaching on "I'm going to rip your throat out with my teeth" territory. There might even be a snap of teeth involved. 

**Your mind is a scary place**

Stiles was going to reply with 'wouldn't you like to know' but it reminded him of the fact that hey, he could read minds, and he dropped his phone back onto his desk.

No matter what else, he might have just convinced Derek that he was the dad of three werewolves and Derek might have just given ground on that, and if he could boast about it without being committed, he totally would. Plus, Derek would totally be that hot dad that the kids refused to take in public around their friends because their friends would make fools of themselves.

Not that Stiles found Derek attractive because no, he definitely didn't. He was just aware that Derek had a face and had charmed a woman in the police station simply by his smile and Stiles had been appalled and disgusted and just a little turned on, but hey, he was sixteen. It happened.

And he might find Derek a little attractive. The same way he found Jackson a little attractive. The douchebag personality sort of nixed any fantasy he might have that would star either of them.

Usually.

\-------

By time Monday rolled around, Stiles was able to drive and had gotten his Jeep back from the shop. At least he didn't have to worry about that. When he pulled in, he wasn't surprised to see Scott and Isaac on the steps waiting for him. He pulled into his usual spot and jumped out of the car, his book bag on his shoulder, and took a deep breath.

He had barely any contact with people over the weekend. He'd texted Scott, Isaac, Erica and even Derek a few times, but he hadn't seen another human besides his dad and he tried to keep away from his dad as much as he could. He felt bad but the guilt was easier to handle when he wasn't subjected to his dad's thoughts to make it worse.

There was a loud crush of noise, louder and closer than just the usual parking lot chatter. Deaton had told him that school would be difficult, like when he had passed through the rest of the hospital and couldn't pick out the different voices. Close corners meant the white noise would be worse but hopefully he would get the hang of it quick enough that he could either just deal or learn to ignore it. With one last deep breath, he made his way past the other students.

When Stiles reached them, he couldn't help the sigh he let out. There was still a dull roar, but it was quieted by their presence, like...

"Dude, I'm Sookie Stackhouse." He said it the same way he'd say 'I'm covered in cat piss' or 'Harris is my new step-mom'. 

Isaac looked a little lost but Scott had a grin on his face that said he enjoyed the reference. After all, Scott had been there when Stiles figured out the parental controls and unlocked HBO and Showtime. As Isaac opened his mouth, probably to ask what a Sookie Stackhouse was, Scott started to talk.

"Hey, if you're Sookie, who is Bill Compton?"

Stiles was sure he had a pithy answer for that but because they hadn't made it past the first season before his dad found out and locked it again, all he could remember was that they kept saving each other.

Well Derek and Stiles kept saving each other.

Shit. Good thing Scott couldn't read minds.

"Let's just go in please." Stiles motioned to the doors as he spoke. He'd much rather stay out there with Scott and Isaac but at least each class had one or more of his wolfy friends there. That'd come in handy. Though on second thought, Stiles would probably deal with the voices rather than sit beside Jackson.

"Have you learned to control it?" Scott's voice wasn't accusatory, just curious. It still caused Stiles to huff because wasn't that rich from the werewolf who didn't know what he was doing. Not that Stiles thought he should join Derek's pack unless he wanted to, but maybe he could train with them or something. Derek had said he could teach Scott to use all of his senses, could teach him to control the shift. 

So in response to the question, Stiles shot a baleful glare at him and made his way to his math class. Erica waved him over to the seat further in the back of the room. He could hear the voices in the room mix with the voices in his head, homework and lunch and parents being jerks and someone's awkward sex dream. He tried to black it out but it was loud. Once he sat beside Erica however, he focused on her silence and breathed a sigh of relief as the noise was reduced.

"Never thought I'd be this happy to have werewolf friends. Seriously."

She smiled but her lips were white as if it was a strain. He tried not to look worried but he wasn't sure if he succeeded.

"So you can't read my mind?" Her voice sounded strained too. Now he was worried.

"Nope, not unless you give me permission. What's the matter, don't want me to hear all of your dirty fantasies?"

She laughed outright at that and her shoulders relaxed a bit. That's all Stiles needed. He put his hand on her jean clad leg and squeezed. She smiled at him and turned to face the board while the teacher started to drone on about their lackluster grades so far. Stiles focused on the rant until he heard Scott's name in a familiar voice in his head.

_"I have to stay out of it for Scott. They only way I can help them right now is to stay out of it. Not that dad will tell me anything now anyways. He doesn't trust me anymore. I don't think I blame him. At least Scott still trusts me. At least I think he does."_

Allison was focused on the board, her pen in constant motion as she tapped out some beat or other against her desk, but she was distracted. Stiles thought about maybe telling her that Scott did still trust her, that he still loved her, but it wasn't his place. They were supposed to be broken up for the safety of Scott and the other werewolves. It wasn't ideal for either of them, Stiles couldn't imagine what it must be like, but it's how it was supposed to be. At least this time they weren't sneaking around.

"Stiles." Erica hissed his name and Stiles jerked to look forward, a wince on his face as he noticed that he was behind on his notes, and started to copy them down quickly. 

He forced Allison's voice to the back of his mind. He still liked her, still considered her a friend, but he didn't know how to be friends with someone who had so openly tried to kill them. And that's what she had done. She'd shot Erica with an arrow and then shot Boyd with many arrows and probably wouldn't have stopped if her dad hadn't stopped her. She didn't seem to care that her grandfather had strung them up in their basement, wrapped with electrical wires to keep them in line. 

She might not know what Gerard did to Stiles, but it didn't matter. She gave the execution orders. She knew that there would be casualties. And while Stiles could understand it, she'd lost her mother and was choked with grief, wanted retribution; she went about it the wrong way.

Stiles thought about his own mother, about the anger he felt whenever he thought about it, and wondered what he would do if he'd been in Allison's position. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He wasn't sure what he would do. He wasn't sure he wouldn't do just what Allison had. He couldn't blame her for it, even if he didn't agree with it.

Between classes, Stiles felt the rush of noise creep over him, but he pushed through the halls. He found himself with a wolf by his side between classes, subtly sniffing him as if they could tell he was distressed. They probably could.

"Is it bad?" Isaac offered Stiles an unopened bottle of water and Stiles took it gratefully. He gulped down a few mouthfuls before he put his head on his forearms. He actually wasn't particularly looking forward to a period with an uninterrupted line of Harris' inner most thoughts, so he hoped that with Isaac nearby, it'd cancel out.

"If you're ever given your choice of superpowers dude," Stiles voice was muffled but he knew Isaac would hear him. "Don't ever pick telepathy. You don't want to know what people are thinking. Seriously, I know way too much about Mrs. Charles and her husband than is probably mentally safe."

Isaac reached over to pat Stiles on the head but his hand slipped and touched his neck. At the contact, Stiles felt a slight hum and could almost make out Isaac's voice. He sat up, eyes wide, and stared at the hand that Isaac pulled away.

"What?" 

Stiles grabbed Isaac's hand and felt the hum rise before he could hear Isaac.

_"He is being slightly weirder than usual. Oh fuck, did you hear that?"_

"Did you hear that?" Isaac's voice was high pitched, eyes wide as he stared at their hands. Before Stiles could say anything, he heard a voice, present in the room and not in his head.

"Mr. Stilinski, Mr. Lahey. While this whirlwind high school romance is no doubt very interesting, how about we pretend to learn something today." Mr. Harris' voice was dry as usual and Stiles let Isaac pull his hand away before he turned to face the front of the room.

_"I don't get paid enough to teach these little bastards."_

Stiles wanted to snort because of course Harris would be just as pompous in his head as he was out loud, but Stiles had hoped that maybe there was more to him. Instead he fished out a pencil and started to write down any information he might need. There wasn't long before the end of the school year at least. And he was going to do his best to not sign up for any class near Harris next year.

After being gifted with an insight into the deep dark mind that is Mr. Harris, which was a lot of brooding and manpain, honestly he was worse than Derek, the bell finally rang. Without Stiles getting a detention, that was new. Isaac pulled him to the side after the class which... was not going to help the rumor that Harris might have started.

"Did you hear that, earlier?" 

Stiles nodded, not sure what to think. He thought he just couldn't hear a werewolf's thoughts without permission but maybe it was without permission unless he was touching them? So he was going to have to not touch them or have them touch him. Except it was okay if they touched clothes, because Isaac had his hand wrapped around Stiles' forearm through his jacket and he'd touched Erica's leg in their morning class. Skin to skin was what triggered it.

"I should let Deaton know." Maybe that would help Deaton figure out what the hell is going on.

"I'm headed there after school anyway; I can tell him if you want me to?" 

Stiles shrugged as he yanked his book bag higher up his shoulder.

"It doesn't matter, I'll stop by. You're there a lot, do you work there now?"

Isaac laughed as he also shouldered his bag and they started to walk down the hall. Near the end they would split and go to their last classes of the day.

"Yeah, I guess. Deaton makes me do some cleaning and he pays me out of pocket. I think he feels bad for me."

They nodded at one another as they went their separate ways. Lydia was at her desk and when Stiles walked in, he almost walked straight back out. The last time he'd seen her, he'd snapped at her. And Hell hath no fury like a Lydia scorned. Instead of a glare or a snarl, she smiled prettily and pat the chair beside her. Stiles eyed it like it might eat him, but when she pat it a second time he knew it wasn't an offer or request. He was being told.

"Hi Lydia, nice to see you." He watched as her smile turned wider at the corners, almost violently.

"You haven't been ignoring me, have you Stiles?"

He coughed into his hand and tried to smile back but the part of him that was interested in Lydia was still well aware that she was terrifying. Honestly, he'd pick an angry, psychopathic Alpha over an angry Lydia any day.

"No? Not actively at least. Passively?" He waited as she seemed to judge him before her smile loosened, became more honest. 

After that, they focused on their class. Stiles forced himself not to listen to any of the voices he could hear besides the teacher, forced himself not to pay attention to a familiar voice. He could catch snippets every now and then of what Lydia was thinking, but they came and went without much difference. 

Once upon a time, he'd be happy to be listen in on Lydia's thoughts, even if it was invasive. He'd get the inside scoop, maybe cater to her inner most desires, and sweep her off her feet. But things change. He changed. No matter how much it hurt that Lydia would never return those feelings, and it did, he knew she was happy. Not that Jackson deserved her.

Stiles was okay with it though. In the grand scheme of things, it was better this way.

He was brought out of his thoughts by his phone vibrating against his leg. He pulled it out and kept it under the desk so that it wouldn't be noticed.

**Heard there has been a new development.**

What, did Isaac text Derek the moment he got into his classroom? Stiles hid the phone as the teacher turned around and tried to ignore the look Lydia gave him. Once the teacher had turned to look at the board again, Stiles brought his phone back out.

**Yeah now permission or touching gives me the psychopathic link with the wolves.**

He didn't have to wait long before his phone vibrated again.

**I think you mean telepathic link.**

He tried to hide a smile as he typed up a quick reply.

**No, definitely mean psychopathic.**

With one last look from Lydia, Stiles shoved his phone into his pocket and ignored the next alert. He could check it after class.

\-------

**Did I do permanent damage when I hit your head on the steering wheel that day?**

**Aw, do you care?**

**No. Come by Deaton's.**

**And if I don't?**

**You will.**

**But if I don't?**

**You. Will.**

\-------

Deaton looked at the group gathered in his waiting room and heaved a sigh before he flipped the sign to say closed. Honestly Stiles wasn't sure how his business would survive if supernatural stuff didn't stop happening if he closed up shop every time. Not that Stiles was one to judge. 

Stiles stood with Isaac and Scott beside him, Derek on the far side, and Erica and Boyd against the wall. It was pleasantly quiet in a way Stiles wasn't used to after the hectic rush at school, so he took a deep breath and grabbed hold of the amulet on his neck. Deaton watched the movement with the eyes of a hawk but Stiles didn't drop his hand.

"You can read their minds if you touch them, is that correct?"

With a jerk towards Isaac, Stiles explained what happened in chemistry. He left out Harris and his general evil. Deaton nodded before he moved into the far room to rummage through the cabinet he had there. Stiles followed him, aware that the wolves were right on his heels. 

"The alpha that did this has to have something, a charmed object, to help him with his magic. It is very unusual for a werewolf to also be a magical being. It is connected to the alpha and therefore you are connected to him. There might be a way we can trace the connection." Deaton was still elbow deep in the cabinet when they all came into the room.

"Trace the connection," Derek's voice was gruff as he spoke. "And kill him." 

Deaton nodded stiffly as if he didn't want to think about it, before he pulled something out. It was a dull gray colored liquid in a small class bottle. He pulled something out with his other hand, something green that looked more like gel than liquid.

"Mix these and drink. It will smell and it will taste awful, but it'll bring your awareness of the connection to a forefront. You'll be able to figure out where the alpha is hiding. The effect won't last long, so you have to be quick, but it will lead you to him." 

Stiles was already about to say yes but before he had the chance to open his mouth, Derek stepped forward.

"Will the alpha be aware of it?" 

And that was a good question. Deaton nodded and held the two jars out a little further. Stiles groaned as he took them because hey, that meant the alpha would know they were looking for him. He rolled them in his hands, could guess that the consistency would leave something to be desired since apparently the smell and taste would also be horrible.

"If this goes bad, how are we going to keep the crazy alpha from coming after me?" Stiles uncorked the liquid and tried not to gag at the smell. Derek handed him a glass that Deaton had pulled from somewhere and he took a deep breath in through his mouth as he poured it in.

"We are going to catch him, that's how." Trust Derek to be unmoving on the idea that this could still go bad. 

Like Stiles could totally die just from the stench and he hadn't even poured out the gel gunk. He uncorked that one and dumped it into the other liquid, the smell so intense that the werewolves looked a little ill themselves. Deaton stirred it before he lifted it to Stiles' mouth.

"You have to drink it before it settles, and drink all of it."

With a groan, Stiles tipped the glass up and started to chug. It tasted like everything nasty in one glass, burnt and gritty and slimy all at the same time. He choked through it, forced himself to swallow, and once the glass was empty, begged himself not to throw it up. Going down was bad enough.

"Okay, how long until... whoa." It was like his entire being was being pulled away. Stiles reached out because he honestly thought his legs were moving, but they weren't. Instead his hand wrapped around Derek's forearm and he held on, nails pressed into his skin, and tried to breathe.

"You have to go now. It'll wear off soon enough. Good luck."

The group left, piled into Stiles' Jeep and Derek's Camaro, and went the way Stiles directed. He couldn't drive, felt as if he was shaking, so he made Scott drive the Jeep with Erica in the backseat. He pointed when he knew it was time to turn but once they got further into town, he realized the pull was lessened.

"I want a refund; that nasty drink is already wearing off. Pull over here." 

They all piled out of their cars, with the other group prepared to fight, until Erica explained what happened. They all kept their hackles raised, on alert, as they eyed their surroundings. Apartment buildings for the most part, with a handful of duplexes interspersed between them.

"Split up. Erica and Scott, check the buildings down the left. Isaac and Boyd, down the right. Stiles and I will go down here. Use your senses and if you think you found something, call me."

They all broke apart into their duos without a word, even Scott who usually would say something about not being under Derek's rule, but this was different. At least Stiles assumed it was different because it was him that was in danger for now. Derek grabbed his arm and yanked him down through the first set of apartments. He was being loud and sniffy so Stiles let him do that. There was still a small pull, but Stiles couldn't figure out where it was pulling him.

"I plan on giving Deaton hell for this. Besides the fact that that was the most disgusting thing I've ever tasted, and I've eaten Scott's cooking, it worked for what, three minutes?"

Derek rolled his eyes but didn't say anything so Stiles took that as a win. They moved slowly past a number of doors before Stiles reached out and grabbed Derek's elbow. The pull was minimal now but it was still there and it was pointing him down the hall. He motioned to Derek who then pulled him away from the apartment and out of the hall all together. 

"What are you doing, it's--" He shoved the leather of his jacket that covered his forearm into Stiles' mouth and continued to pull him down the hall. Stiles resisted the urge to bite the leather and instead focused on his feet moving at Derek's speed so that he wouldn't trip and potentially die.

"I need to call the pack." Derek had his phone out before they stopped moving and he called Boyd, telling him where they were, before he quickly called Erica and told her the same. A few minutes later they all came up the steps together and zeroed in on Derek and Stiles. 

"So what's the plan, we storm in and hope for the best? This is a pretty public place Derek, we can't draw attention to--" Derek cut Scott off with a glare.

"Thank you for your input Scott. He's weak; we can use the element of sur...prise." 

His voice trailed off at the end, eyes wide and a little scared, as he looked down the hall. All of the betas could sense his mood change and started to look panicked on his behalf. Stiles was alone in the fact that he had no idea what was going on. He opened his mouth to ask but Erica started to shake like she was having a seizure and Boyd wrapped his arms around her. 

"What is it?" He moved forward to grab her hand for comfort but she pulled back. He tried not to let it sting but he turned to Derek, eyes hard and expected an answer. He wasn't disappointed.

"I can feel... the alpha is in there, but he isn't alone." 

Stiles waited for him to tell him the punchline but it didn't come. Instead he turned, as if he was about to storm towards the hallway they'd just left, but Scott pulled him back.

"It's... I can feel it too. Stiles, I think it's..." His words broke off as Derek started to shift there in the apartment building hallway. Stiles groaned and looked around as if to make sure no one was around.

"This is really not the place or time for a werewolf breakdown. Can I get a solid answer or something here, please?"

Derek's voice came out, one word garbled around his elongated canines, but Stiles heard it easily enough. He felt his own heart shudder, knew that the others probably heard it too, but they were all a little distracted by what had just come to pass.

That one word changed things drastically. That one word was "Gerard".

\------

They needed to get into that apartment now more than ever, but now they also had to be extra careful. As far as they could tell, there was only two heart beats in the room, but that didn't mean they were safe. In fact it almost guaranteed that this was more serious than they previously thought. The wolves were half shifted in the hallway, growls lost as they gnashed their teeth together. Stiles kept still, tried not to panic. Gerard couldn't touch him. He wasn't lost on the field in the middle of the chaos now, he was surrounded by werewolves. Werewolves that actually kind of tolerated Stiles and therefore wouldn't let him be brutalized again if they could help it.

But could they? Erica and Boyd had been strung up like piñatas when Stiles had gotten down there. If it wasn't for Chris Argent, they wouldn't have gotten out. Although maybe if he would have left them there for a while longer, they wouldn't have gotten taken by the alphas. 

It was too messed up to think about.

"What's the plan?" Stiles hadn't even realized he spoke until he noticed the werewolves had started to settle and looked from him to Derek. It only took a moment before he spoke.

"We have to go in there. The alpha will know you're aware of the connection but he might not know that it would lead us here. The plan is to kill them both. Whatever Gerard is, I can sense him, so don't underestimate him. Stiles, stay back."

It would have stung before, he would have shot his mouth off about how just because he was human, it didn't mean he was helpless. Only he'd seen it too much lately, seen how fragile he could be if he didn't have mountain ash or a molotov cocktail or his Jeep. He wasn't weak, he would never be weak, but he was vulnerable and he could accept that.

He stepped back; let the wolves flank him for a moment before they went off. He stayed behind them, kept his eyes on their backs as they walked slowly down the hall as to not give the alpha too much of a warning that they were there. They were almost at the door when Stiles started to hear something, something closer than just in his ear.

 _"Let them come; they'll get a lungful of wolfsbane."_

Stiles jerked out, his hand wrapped around Scott's arm before he got to far away, eyes wide and shook his head. Scott looked confused and the others paused their advanced, possibly having heard Stiles' heart shudder violently. He motioned away because they were too close, could be overheard, and slowly the pack followed him. Back in their previous hallway, Derek surged forward, anger evident on his face. Before he could tear into Stiles for the interruption, Stiles started to speak.

"I don't know what Gerard is, but you can sense him as a beta and I can hear him as a human. He said 'Let them come; they'll get a lungful of wolfsbane.' I don't know if that means he knows we're here or if the alpha told him that I knew about the connection, but it's a trap. We go in there and something is going to happen."

Scott and Derek looked hesitant because... that's right. Mrs. Argent had tried to kill Scott that way and when Derek had helped him, he'd gotten a lungful of it too. They all took a moment to rethink their strategy, but suddenly all of them turned their heads down the hall and Stiles heard Isaac swear under his breath.

"What? What'd I miss?" Because sometimes Stiles hated being human.

"They left."

And suddenly the pack was gone. He groaned because that wasn't fair and took off behind them. He ran down the hall until he got to the door he'd felt the alpha behind. The door was still closed, there was no sign that that was where the group. He was about to give up when he saw the emergency exit two doors away. The door was open although it had definitely not been when they had come this way before. He slipped through it, pulling it closed behind him. The stairwell was empty save for him so he looked up and down before he decided to go down.

At the very least if he couldn't find them, he could leave. He took the stairs two at a time and ignored as his heart started to speed up. If he hadn't heard Gerard's thoughts, they would have walked into the room and the wolves would have been attacked by some version of wolfsbane in the air. But how would the alpha and Gerard survive the attack? He stopped halfway down and started back up. 

That also brought up how he heard Gerard's thoughts at all. Derek could sense him somehow which meant he was at least half changed. The mountain ash in his veins should have killed him by then, wasn't that what Deaton had said? He couldn't survive like that. But if Stiles had heard his thoughts without touching him or permission, that also meant he was human still. Maybe the mountain ash hindered his werewolf side but he was still changed. How long did that give him to survive? 

He snuck back into the hall and checked both directions before he tried the doorknob to the apartment he had felt pulled to earlier. It was unlocked and he took a deep breath, ready to run at the first hint of trouble, and pushed it open..

It triggered a something because suddenly there was a cloud of smoke in the air but it didn't do anything to Stiles. There was the very obvious smell of wolfsbane though. He stepped through the door and looked. The apartment wasn't lived in, looked bare except for a cot in the corner, a small table next to it. He bent next the table where there was a mortar and pestle. There was something in it, a black finely crushed powder with flakes of blue in it. Stiles grabbed the items and the small lid that was on the side. He closed it, made sure it was tight, and slipped it into his jacket pocket.

There was a noise behind him but when he turned around, there wasn't anything there. He didn't stop to check the rest of the apartment, simply slipped out and shut the door. The entire room was filled with the wolfsbane now so they probably wouldn't return.

It still didn’t explain how they were going to get out of there if the pack had attacked. They would have been exposed to the wolfsbane just as Derek and the others, so what was the point? 

He went the long way out of the apartment building, tried to look like he belonged there when he passed a severe looking woman and her two kids. He slumped out of the complex and back down the road to where they had parked the cars. Scott had slipped him his keys back once they'd pulled over so he pulled them out and started the Jeep. The Camaro was still parked behind him. He pulled out his phone and thought for a moment before he dialed Scott's number.

It rang through to his voicemail and Stiles hung up after ordering Scott to call him when he got the chance. He dialed the other wolves in turn but no one answered. He shook his head before sending them a text to say he'd be at Deaton's, he put the car in drive and left.

They were probably fighting the alpha. And Gerard. Really hope they kill them both, Stiles thought to himself, so that he could sleep again. He went back the way they had come before and pulled in at the vet's office. He ran his hand over the back of his neck as he stayed there, eyes on the closed sign in the door. He brought out the mortar in his pocket and eyed it before he slipped it into the glove compartment. He hopped out of the Jeep and made his way to the door, hands stuck in his pockets, and hovered for a minute. He wasn't sure if Deaton was still there or not.

He knocked on the glass and peered inside but it looked empty. Of course. He grabbed his phone and started to rifle through his contacts but something collided painfully with the back of his head. He dropped his phone and hit his knees on the hard cement. He spun around and there was Gerard, mouth stained black and eyes furiously tinged gold. 

He wanted to kick out, to fight back the way he hadn't the first time, but there were hands on his biceps to lift him up and cart him too a small dark blue car, He tried to fight, tried to get away, but the hands were tight and he was forced into the trunk before he could even try to call out for help.

\------

When Stiles was six, he accidentally locked himself in his dad's trunk. Hide and seek had been his favorite game to play with his mom and his dad had gotten home from the grocery. He hadn't even noticed his son curled up under the old blue and brown blanket they had back there, just shut the trunk and carried the last of the groceries inside. Stiles had stayed panicked quickly and started to call out, bang his little fists on the trunk until he felt weak with it. And then he'd done it again and again, hoped that his parents would hear him.

They'd found him two and a half hours after they had locked him in there. Up until that point, he'd never seen his father so terrified. He'd pulled him out of the trunk and hugged him, kissed him, apologized and thanked God that he was okay. Stiles had cried into his dad's shoulder and then into his mom's lap late that night. He'd had nightmares for weeks. It wasn't something he remembered until he was locked once more in a trunk.

His watch told him he'd been in there for just over five hours. His chest felt tight and he had to talk to himself to keep calm, but he knew no amount of banging or yelling would free him this time. He wasn't sure where they had driven but the car had been in transit for a full hour before it parked on a gravel road.

His phone was on the doorstep of the vet's office, his Jeep in the parking lot. Hopefully the pack found it before his dad did. He couldn't face his dad finding out about werewolves from reading his text messages.

If the pack found it first, they could sniff him out. They all had his smell, could probably find a shirt or jacket in the car to help if they need it. Even in the trunk and being ridden around for an hour couldn't dispel his scent too much. Hopefully.

He kept his eyes closed as much as he could, tried not to let himself touch the walls of the trunk. If he didn't think about it, didn't acknowledge that he was in the trunk, he might not panic. He was okay with closed spaces for the most part but it was a childhood fear now. He breathed as evenly as he could and felt the bump on the back of his head. It wasn't anything bad, he'd definitely had worse. 

Sleep wasn't possible but Stiles kept himself as relaxed as he could. He needed to be alert and be prepared. The wolves would get him out. Scott wouldn't stop until he found him. Derek wouldn't either. Stiles wasn't sure what made him so sure, but he was.

There was a noise and it alerted Stiles to a change. He scrambled to get to the best position to attack if the trunk was opened. He waited and listened but didn't hear anything else. They were on some gravel road, maybe it was a deer. Just as he started to relax, the trunk started to open.

Without a second thought, he launched himself upwards and punched the person that opened the trunk. Of course his eyes widened as his hand started to throb and he was dropped pretty hard onto the ground, a flash of something in the back of his mind that Stiles didn't catch.

Derek leaned over him; hand on his face although Stiles knew that the punch had probably barely been felt. He flexed his fingers to make sure they weren't broken before he stood up. It was dark outside but they were in the woods somewhere.

"About damn time, I was in there for five hours." 

He looked around but none of the others were there. Derek motioned down the rest of the driveway they were at and Stiles followed him as they made their way silently. Or Derek moved silently, Stiles moved pretty damn stiffly after being shoved in a trunk for that long. 

"How did you find me?" Stiles kept his voice casual except there was nothing casual about it. Derek seemed to know that because he stopped walking to fully face Stiles in the middle of the path.

"We chased after the alpha's scent but we lost him. Once we realized we had no idea where you were, Scott was smart enough to check his phone. By time we got to the vet, your car was there but nothing else. Erica called your phone and we heard it. It's okay, Scott has it. From there we just picked up your scent and followed it around town. They must have driven around all of Beacon Hills for an hour or something because it went everywhere before we followed it here. Thought it was a trap so I sent the others to make a perimeter while I got you out. By the way," Derek raised an eyebrow at that point. "You have a strange way of showing your gratitude for being saved." He rubbed the spot where Stiles had punched him although, really, it couldn't still hurt. 

"Oh I'm sorry. I was kidnapped, what did you expect? Next time I'll jump out and kiss you, shall I? You should have said it was you and I wouldn't have punched you." 

Derek opened his mouth to reply but something drew his attention. After a brief second pause when Stiles was prepared to ask if something was wrong, he pulled Stiles off of the path and down through the trees before he pressed him against one.

"What--" Stiles' words were cut off as Derek pushed him against the tree and then stepped right up against him. Stiles could barely breathe, his throat suddenly dry, but he tried to tell himself that Derek would be paying more attention to whatever he could hear rather than Stiles' fast beating heart.

Suddenly he could hear it too, voices in the distance.

"I can't believe he told us to just leave him." The first voice was gruff and angry but not familiar.

"And now we have to come out here again because he said we should let him go? I didn't sign up for this." The second voice was also angry but there was something else there that made Stiles' shiver against Derek. They were close enough that Stiles could hear their voices and he tried to listen as much as he could.

_"We should have just killed the kid. Then we could be out of here. Damn old man is fucked in the head."_

Stiles felt his throat close and he must have made a noise because suddenly Derek was pressed tighter to him, shushing him. Stiles nodded, throat constricted, and tried to focus on the line of Derek's throat instead of the voices as they got closer. 

They weren't too far from the car. They would get there and realize that Stiles wasn't in the trunk. They wouldn't even have to get all the way there because they hadn't shut the trunk; they'd see it from a distance. Two hunters, no doubt armed, and the rest of the pack somewhere in the vicinity but not close enough to be of help. He half expected Derek to emerge from behind the trees and tear them down but they stayed put, pressed together in a way that should have been awkward but really, really wasn't.

Which was awkward in itself. That plus Stiles tried to do anything but stare at Derek from their close quarters. Instead he watched him from the corner of his eye, studied the line of his jaw and the way his throat worked whenever he swallowed. The way Derek's eyes squinted a bit when he was focused on something, his mouth tight and in the smallest frown. 

Raised voices told Stiles when they noticed the trunk was open. He stiffened as he heard one of their thoughts and how they outlined the exact way Stiles should be killed. Derek might not have heard the thought but he felt Stiles stiffen and Derek pressed his finger to his own mouth to show him to be quiet.

The hunters started to trek back through the woods but stopped close enough to the tree they were behind that Stiles could hear their breaths come out as they discussed what to do. Stiles could make out a few words and it didn't sound good, but whatever it was, it made Derek relax a little. They stayed there, Derek pressed tight against Stiles while they listened, and Stiles wondered what would happen if he reached his hand up. He wouldn't have to do much, move his hand up a few inches and he could touch Derek's stomach. He could even reach his other hand up and touch the skin of Derek's neck and cheek.

He stilled when Derek stepped back, the hunters no longer a threat. It wouldn't be fair, wouldn't be right, for Stiles to touch Derek's skin anyways. He didn't have permission to hear Derek's thoughts and it'd feel like he was stealing if he did it otherwise. He watched as Derek waited to make sure that the hunters were really gone before he slumped against the tree.

God, had he thought about kissing Derek? He had. He'd seriously thought about kissing Alpha Werewolf Derek Hale while a bunch of Big Bad Werewolf Hunters were just a few feet away. There was a difference between extreme stupidity and being sixteen and he had flirted with that line.

Just as he was about to right himself, there was a hand on his arm. He looked up to ask what was wrong this time but Derek pushed him back against the tree. Right as Stiles was about to sigh, wanted to know why the hunters couldn't just give up, Derek pressed their mouths together. It was less of a kiss and more of a fight, just as Stiles had imagined it would be if they ever did this, but he didn't care. He reached up and grabbed the front of Derek's jacket and pulled him closer while he pushed his tongue into Derek's mouth. There was a brief moment when Derek's hands were fisted in his shirt before he pulled back and took a deep breath. Stiles waited, eyes wide and mouth open as he panted, to know what it meant. Instead Derek cursed, eyes red for a moment before he kissed Stiles once more and stepped backwards until Stiles was forced to let go of Derek's jacket.

"Scott will be here in a moment. We should get you home before your dad realizes you aren't there." 

Stiles opened his mouth, to ask what the hell just happened, but snapped it shut. Now was not the time for that conversation. It happened and Stiles could bring it up with Derek when they weren't in the woods with the rest of his pack nearby and some hunters that might want to kill Stiles and definitely wanted to kill the werewolves. Now was definitely not the time.

Scott burst through the tree line and smiled as he spotted Stiles, didn't even acknowledge Derek even though he stood less than five feet away. His smile lessened as he got closer until he was almost frowning.

"You okay man? You look a little pale and your heart is beating really fast." Scott's voice was full of concern and while Stiles was grateful, he also wanted to punch Scott until he realized that it didn't matter. Derek would have been able to hear his heart beat anyway, it's not like it was a secret.

"I don't know Scott, am I okay? I was locked in a trunk for five hours, I'm sure I'm allowed to be a little out of it." Stiles tried not to look at Derek as he spoke but he couldn't help it. Derek's face was unreadable except for the smallest hint of a smile. He covered it the moment that Stiles noticed it and started to bark orders.

"The Jeep is parked just outside of the reservation. The others are headed that way and will let us know that the coast is clear. Scott, take Stiles and get him home." Derek didn't wait for either of them to reply, simply stalked off in one direction while Scott started to pull Stiles in a different direction.

"Dude, Scott, I can walk. You're basically carrying me, slow down." Despite Stiles' assurance that he could walk and wasn't invalid, Scott still kept his arm around Stiles' shoulders and walked fast. There might still be hunters in the woods so it might be for the best.

The Jeep seemed to emerge out of nowhere and Stiles gave a sigh of relief to see it was in one piece. Isaac was crouched behind it and when they showed up, he tossed the keys at Scott and slipped into the backseat. Stiles climbed into the passenger seat and sighed gratefully when he saw his phone on the dashboard. He tucked it into his pocket after he made sure that there wasn't any damage to it.

"So what's the plan? Get me home in one piece and pretend that I wasn't kidnapped by Gerard Argent for the second time?" 

At this point it was starting to become a trend to be kidnapped by the creepy adult. First Peter, then Gerard, now Gerard again? And now that Peter was alive again, Stiles half expected to get kidnapped by him again.

"It's a pretty basic plan. We heard on the other side of the woods that Gerard had expected a full on attack and when we didn't give it to him, he gave up. You were a loose end, but now he's going to be pissed. Maybe we should have someone stay at your house for the night. Just in case he gets any ideas?" 

Stiles was agreeable to that so he told Isaac and Scott they could fight over who got to sleep on his floor. When they pulled into the driveway, Stiles flinched when he saw his dad's car. He checked himself in the mirror but he looked okay. He had a bit of dirt smudged on his cheek and the back of his head hurt from whatever he'd gotten hit with, but he didn't look like he'd spent the last five hours in a trunk.

"So, which one is staying and which one is leaving?" He hopped out and started towards the front door when he was joined with Isaac. 

"Scott wants to check on his mom." 

They stepped into the house and looked around. Maybe his dad was asleep? They started towards the kitchen because Stiles hadn't eaten since lunch at school and his stomach was starting to let itself be known. In the little dining room at the table was his dad, piles of papers and files before him. It was a familiar sight but Stiles hated it. He hated that his dad had to bring his work home with him.

"Hey Stiles. And Isaac, good to see you. There's lasagna in the oven if you're hungry." His dad barely even looked up except to greet Isaac. 

Stiles tried to ignore his dad's thoughts since it was about the case in front of him and went over to the stove to pull out the lasagna. It was still mostly warm so he dished it out onto two plates, both large helpings but they were growing boy and werewolf, and grabbed two cokes. He motioned towards the stairs and Isaac nodded. They both called a 'see you later' to Stiles' dad who simply mumbled something as they made their way up the stairs.

"Is he always like that during a case?" Isaac dropped into Stiles' computer chair to eat while Stiles slumped onto his bed.

"Depends on the case. There have been calls from neighboring cities and counties about animal attacks that resemble a little too strongly the attacks from when Scott was first bitten. It's driving dad crazy because they are getting in touch with him because they know he had something similar and yet those cases were never fully resolved." 

He shoveled a few forkfuls of food into his mouth in quick succession, barely remembering to chew and very grateful that it wasn't too hot because he would have burned his tongue. He glanced at Isaac and saw that he was doing the same thing so he didn't feel too bad about it.

"You think it might be werewolves?" Isaac's mouth was full but Stiles still understood him. He shrugged and took another bite before he spoke.

"I asked Derek if you guys had been going for late night snacks but he said no."

Isaac rolled his eyes and put his empty plate on the computer desk. He cocked his head as if he was listening to something further away than in the room and shrugged a little.

"Can you hear what he's thinking from here?" The question made Stiles a little uncomfortable because he tried not to listen as often as he could. He took a deep breath and focused on the ambient noise just outside of the room.

At first there was nothing, just the usual white noise between his ears, but then there was something more. His dad's voice only soft and low, deep inside his head. He focused on it until the words became clear.

_"Three bodies in Frankfort, two in Clydesdale, four in Harrison, one in Delilah City. Each one mauled as if by a bear. It also looks a lot like that Hale girl's body. What did that end up being, wolves? No, it couldn't be wolves. Never got a straight answer out of her brother did we? Every time I turn around, there's Derek Hale or one of the teenagers he has following him around. Sometimes my son. What if it's a cult? Stiles couldn't be in a cult. How would I know? It's not like I know my son anymore."_

Stiles tried to force the words out of his head, tried not to listen, but he couldn't miss what was thought next.

_"I'm glad Sam's not here to see how much I've failed our son."_

He couldn't help but feel as if he was in the middle of a panic attack, his chest tight and his eyes unseeing. He couldn't breathe, couldn't focus on anything except for the fact that he was a disappointment to his dad in a way he could probably never fix. He felt a hand on his arm and then Isaac was shaking him until he finally snapped out of it.

"I'm sorry. I just couldn't hear him anymore. I wanted to know if there was anything... I'm sorry, are you okay?"

Stiles blinked a few times before he pulled away from Isaac and put his food on the table on top of Isaac's plate. He wasn't hungry anymore. He took a long gulp from his coke before he put that down too. Once that was done, he rummaged through his closet for the old sleeping bag that he used to keep in there before he remembered it was under his bed. He crawled under there and pulled it out before he tossed it to Isaac. Then he went into the hall closet to grab a spare pillow and blanket.

"It is more comfortable if you don't get in it; just use it as a pallet or something. Here you go. Do we have homework? I can't remember." He grabbed his book bag which he hadn't even remembered bringing in and flopped onto his bed to rummage through it.

"You smell weird." 

Stiles looked up at Isaac who was back at the desk but who was staring at him. He rolled his eyes as he pulled out his math text book.

"Dude, I was locked in a trunk for five hours. That doesn't surprise me." The words weren't even out before Isaac started to shake his head.

"No, it's something more. It hurt my eyes and my nose." 

Stiles sniffed himself but he couldn't smell anything. It hit him what it was quickly.

"Oh yeah, I went into the apartment and got sprayed with wolfsbane. I guess it wore mostly off because Derek..." He trailed off as he remembered Derek pressed along his front, their mouths pressed together. Huh, that actually happened didn't it?

"No, I don't think it's that. I mean it is, but at the same time it feels like something more. I've been around wolfsbane a lot, Derek is trying to get us able to pick the scent out of things. It's something different."

Stiles thought about it and just as he opened his mouth to say that maybe it wasn't him, he figured it out.

"There was a mortar and pestle in the apartment. It's in my Jeep, I completely forgot. I need to take it to Deaton. There was this substance in it, crushed up. Maybe that's it?" Isaac sniffed the air and shrugged because his guess was as good as Stiles' at that point.

They did their homework quietly except to ask each other a question every now and then. How strange it was that Stiles had tracked the alpha that had put some sort of spell on him, kidnapped and held in a trunk, and then rescued by werewolves and now had to do homework. The injustice of it all was hilarious.

Every so often, Isaac would freeze but then keep going. Whatever he heard must not be a threat or else Stiles figured he would stop writing and maybe take up a defensive position. At one point he startled and started to stand up but then he nodded as if he heard something else and he sat down. When Stiles asked what happened, Isaac had said he thought he heard something but he'd been mistaken.

It wouldn't have been so bad except for the total radio silence. He'd texted Scott, Erica, Boyd, and even Derek but nothing. He text Lydia because he was bored and she'd said that Jackson had been called away by Derek and she didn't feel like talking to anyone that was involved in all of it. 

That meant somewhere out in Beacon Hills there was a group of werewolves doing something probably stupid and Stiles was stuck at home trying to figure out if his handwriting had always been this impossible to read. His notes were almost illegible. 

Once they were finished, Stiles took a quick shower and tried not to freak out as he found himself remembering being locked in the trunk. He took a deep breath a few times before he was calm enough to step out of the shower and dry off. Hopefully Isaac hadn't heard the jump in his heart rate. He loaned Isaac something to sleep in and crawled under his blanket and tried to drift off to sleep while Isaac showered. He rolled over until his face was completely buried in his pillow and took a few calming breaths before he let himself go to sleep, knowing that if something happened, Isaac would hear.

\------

"Bilinski, are you even listening to me?" Stiles blinked out of his stupor and tried to focus on Finstock's rant but he couldn't. He had barely been able to focus in any of his classes that day. All of the werewolves were there and accounted for, although Stiles had gotten a five am text from Scott that said they were all okay and they hadn't found anything, so he wasn't worried about that. Instead he was worried about everything else.

His dad, the attacks in the other cities, Gerard being back, the alpha still being out there, how strange Erica kept acting lately, the fact that he could read minds.

He was also a little worried about the fact that Finstock's mind read like a picture book instead of words, but he'd noticed that with a few other people. They thought in a series of images rather than in words. He was mostly worried because Finstock kept thinking about women's lingerie in a way that was making Stiles mildly to majorly uncomfortable.

"Sorry coach."

Finstock glared at Stiles as if he thought the apology was insincere before he started to rant on about whatever it was they were learning. Finals were at the end of the week and then they would be done with the school year. And how Stiles used to be melodramatic and say he might not survive finals, he had started to think he might not actually survive finals this year. 

"Stiles?" He glanced over at Allison who looked worried. Scott and Boyd were in the back of the room so they could hear her but Stiles simply smiled and shrugged as if that answered everything. Allison glanced up at Finstock before she looked back at Stiles.

"Can we talk after school? Please?"

Stiles sent a glance to Scott who was doing a good job at pretending he wasn't listening. Boyd wasn't as good at it, but they were trying. That had to count for something.

"Sure, yeah. The parking lot?" She shook her head as Finstock turned around to the board to draw something out.

"My house?" She tossed a small glance over her shoulder that said everything she wouldn't say out loud. Less chance of being overheard that way. Stiles sighed but nodded. Maybe he could do some mind snooping to see if it was public knowledge that Gerard was back in town.

The rest of the day was spent avoiding Scott's very pointed questions and Boyd's very pointed glares. They didn't tell any of the other wolves or else Stiles was sure he would have gotten a few glares from Erica and a few questions from Isaac.

After school, Stiles made his way to the Argent house with a strong sense of foreboding. He couldn't help the way his leg jerked up and down at stop lights. It wouldn't be a trap, Allison wanted out of the family business and this would not be the way to go about it. She seemed sincere. Chris Argent had helped them with Jackson, had went against his father. Stiles was fairly certain this wasn't a trap.

Allison was on her porch when Stiles pulled in. She smiled and opened the door and they made their way into the kitchen were they climbed onto the stools at the breakfast bar. 

"Do you want something to eat or drink?" She motioned to the fridge and Stiles eyed it before he shook his head. 

"You're a very good hostess Allison but I don't think you called me here to make small talk. What's going on?" 

She bent her head and took a deep breath. Stiles couldn't hear her mind at first but then he could. It was snippets, moving too fast to make sense, but he caught one word that definitely had his attention.

"I heard my dad talking to some of his hunters. They think Gerard is possibly back in town. He wants me to stay out of it just as much as I want to be out of it, but I can't be. Not while I still live here. He promised to tell me anything I'd need to know, but I'm not... Stiles, if Gerard is back..."

She couldn't seem to get her words out so Stiles took a deep breath and took pity on her.

"He is." 

Her head snapped up, eyes wide, but something else drew Stiles' attention. A second person was there, in the other room, and had definitely just heard what happened. Before Stiles could think about it, Chris Argent was there in the kitchen next to his daughter.

"How do you know?" His voice was calm and not accusatory so Stiles figured he wasn't under attack just yet.

"Let's see, him and some of his buddies might have kidnapped me yesterday and locked me in a trunk for a couple of hours."

Allison looked terrified and Chris looked some mixture of guilty and angry. It was pretty spectacular to witness but he didn't want to see it. Instead he stood up and thought about making a break for it.

"So he's not alone. If he's back in town, you can bet it'll be to finish what he started. He'll want to kill Derek to take over as alpha." 

Stiles felt his heart trip at that and was forever grateful that these were hunters and not werewolves who could hear it. He shook his head.

"He's not a full werewolf. Derek could only sense him when we got close to him, plus he was still leaking that nasty black shit." He couldn't explain how else he knew that Gerard was a human, that he could sense Gerard's thoughts. He didn't want them to be aware of his new ability if it could be helped.

_"My father won't stop until he's gotten what he wants or he's dead."_

Stiles heard the words coming from Chris Argent's mind and he felt a shutter go down his back. He really hoped that he died first. Nothing else would let Stiles sleep at night.

"And the wolves, what is their plan?" Stiles felt his back stiffen because no, he wasn't going to be the go between. Not like this.

"I don't know. It just happened." Plus they had their own things to worry about, namely the alpha that had somehow bewitched Stiles.

"My father is partly turned and he is a danger. The hunters will handle him." 

Stiles stiffened even more until he felt his back twinge.

"If you can, do it. But he came after me, he wants to kill Derek. If he makes his move and the pack has a chance, they'll take him out."

Would that hurt the tenuous peace between them? Would Chris see that as an attack on humans since his father wasn't completely turned? He wanted to ask since Chris had simply nodded, but he heard his thoughts.

_"If he attacks them, they should kill him. As simple as that."_

Stiles tried not to nod his agreement and made his way towards the front of the house.

"As nice as it is to see you both, I should get home. Allison, I'll see you at school. Mr. Argent." He couldn't escape without shaking Chris' hand but once he was released, he nearly ran out of the house and jumped into his jeep.

Halfway between their house and his own, he thought about what that family had been through. Kate had burned the Hale house down and therefore killed innocent people. Kids. Peter killed her in retribution. Derek had bitten Allison's mom when they were fighting and she had to be killed so that she wouldn't become one. Allison had become like Kate and it took seeing her grandfather get the bite on purpose to pull her from the brink. And then Gerard, who was okay with killing anyone and everyone in his way, had gotten the bite from Derek and if it hadn't been for Scott's quick thinking before that, they might all be dead.

That family had lost so much and Stiles found himself hoping that no more Argents had to die because of it. Chris might be scary but he lived by the code, he had morals. Allison made a mistake but she was trying to fix it. 

He pulled over at the vet's office when he saw that it was open but there were no cars in the lot. He grabbed the mortar and pestle out of his glove compartment and made his way into the building. Deaton was filing papers under the desk when Stiles walked in.

"Ah, Stiles. Scott told me what happened yesterday. I'm sorry. If I was here, maybe that wouldn't have happened. How are you?" 

Stiles wanted to sigh because he had no idea. Instead he put the stone bowl down and pushed it at Deaton. He eyed it warily before Stiles spoke.

"We found where the alpha was living but they couldn't enter it because of a wolfsbane canister. I went in alone. No one was there but I found this." He took the top off and pushed it even closer to Deaton. Deaton moved the powder around with the pestle before he scooped some of it onto his finger. He sniffed it and then tasted it before spitting it into the trashcan.

"It's supposed to be something that helps with magic. He probably has something on his person, a flask or a vial, that is filled with this. If made correctly, it can strengthen magic. If one thing is wrong, the effects can be disastrous."

Stiles reached up and grabbed the amulet around his neck.

"So if made wrong and used on someone wearing an amulet to keep magic at bay, it what, distorts it?" He let his hand fall and watched as Deaton went into the back. He waited a moment before he followed. 

Deaton dumped the powder into a small vial and then pushed a stopper into the top.

"I didn't say this one was made wrong. It is completely correct. The amulet you're wearing is old and the magic that is on it might not be as strong as it used to be. Or perhaps the spell he used is what was distorted. We may never know."

Stiles fisted the amulet once more before he dropped his hands onto the table that usually held a sick animal but now held the vial of black and blue powder.

"Kill the alpha and hope it is removed?" Deaton shrugged as he pushed the vial towards Stiles.

"You hold on to this. You may need it."

He didn't ask what he could need it for or how he could use it, he simply stuffed it into his pocket and then looked around the office. He needed to go home, do his homework, do some studying. Finals started tomorrow and while Stiles was pretty sure he was ready, it never hurt.

"What does it mean that Gerard is still alive?" 

Deaton had been cleaning up and was surprised by the question. He crossed his arms over his chest and thought about it.

"You saw the effects of mountain ash if used around wolves. It hinders them, not kills. The mountain ash in his body would be holding his wolf side at bay but not completely. I honestly expected, if he survived the bite at all, that he would have died at his first full moon."

Stiles shoved his hands into his pockets and sighed. He wasn't sure that was what he wanted to hear. 

\------

**held up at work, get takeout if hungry, money under the fruit bowl**

Stiles closed the text from his dad and went over to the fruit bowl. Instead of picking it up to grab the money, he grabbed an apple and bit into it noisily. He could do his homework which was comprised of review sheets or he could study for finals. If his dad wasn't home by six, he could order something. Maybe even go out and pick something up. He twirled the apple between his palms before he grabbed a coke and went upstairs.

He started on his review sheets first. His classes weren't that bad this semester and he was sure that he'd do okay if he just focused on the finals. He could keep from almost dying long enough to do that, couldn't he? 

With one last check to his cell phone, because he had mass texted the werewolves to tell them what happened with the Argents, before he pushed his ear buds into his ears and turned up his music. He flicked through the sheets a few times before he began, focused completely on the work.

\-------

"This place is a death trap." Stiles tripped over a broken something or other as he made his way through the old subway car. He didn't even know that Beacon Hills had had a subway before all of this. Isaac laughed and Stiles flipped him off before he grabbed hold of the bar and tried not to look like he almost fell face first.

"I thought you said your plan was to stay inside tonight?"

Stiles groaned as he flopped onto one of the old seats opposite of Isaac. Derek was in the building station somewhere doing something. He was very vague when he had disappeared when Stiles had shown up rather unannounced. Erica and Boyd were curled up in a far corner with their text books in their lap.

"My dad is working late and I pretty much do not feel safe home alone right now."

Erica and Boyd shot him sympathetic glances because they had been there when Gerard had beaten the crap out of him. He remembered the jolt of electricity as he'd tried to free Erica. He remembered the pain in their eyes. He remembered seeing them both looking away because they were unable to do anything.

They studied for a while, every now and then commenting on their work. It wasn't long before the wolves got restless and started tossing mild insults to one another. Stiles ducked as Erica threw a text book with deadly precision at Isaac for a comment on the tightness of her jeans and Boyd growled playfully when Erica had commented on the tightness of his new shirts. 

They bantered for a while before it actually became physical, before each of them wolfed out and started to tackle each other. Stiles struggled to stay out of the way as they hit and bumped through the subway car. Derek had come in through the back and watched the trio with a blank face that bordered on a smile.

Stiles was just about to comment on it when he noticed how often Erica was tossing glances at Derek. She was on Boyd's back, her claws poking into his shoulders in a way that looked like it hurt but was still playing to them. Her eyes seemed to narrow in on Derek every time she glanced up at him. Derek noticed the looks because he stood up straighter although he tried to stay casual, his claws growing as Stiles watched. Isaac and Boyd realized what was going to happen two seconds after Erica launched herself off of Boyd's back and across the car to attack Derek.

This time the growls were real, the claws were trying to hurt, the teeth were aimed with precision. Derek wasn't attacking, seemed to be permanently on the defense. Isaac and Boyd were frozen in their place as they watched their fellow beta try to attack their alpha. 

"Do just stand there, do something!" Stiles didn't even recognize his own voice as he screamed at them but it was enough to jerk them out of their trance. They each jumped into the fray and once Derek was sure they weren't all ganging up on him, he allowed them to help get her held down. The snarl that left his lips was enough to put the one from the police station, putting Isaac in his place, to shame. It rattled the walls and windows and Stiles felt a little as if his ribs might be broken from the force of the noise.

It worked because each of the betas had turned back. Isaac looked terrified but was still holding Erica down. Boyd's face was unreadable as he pinned Erica to the dirty floor. And Erica... her eyes were wide and terrified in a way that made Stiles sick to his stomach. His back was pressed painfully against a metal rail where he'd tried to get out of the way of the fight.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I don't... I don't know what came over me. I'm sorry Derek." Erica's voice was tiny and Stiles wanted to go over there and comfort her but he'd seen her shrink away from him enough. Plus he wasn't sure he felt safe just then.

Derek dropped to his knees beside her, eyes still red as he stared at her, and put his hand first on her neck and then on her cheek. She leaned into it and whimpered pitifully before she simply faded into sleep. Boyd carried her over to a mattress in the corner and Isaac stood up, knees wobbly, and made his way over to where he'd left his text book.

Derek looked at the three of them before his red eyes turned on Stiles.

"Get your stuff."

Stiles didn't fight him on it. He grabbed his bag, said goodbye to the three werewolves, and followed Derek out of the subway car and then out of the station all together. He followed Derek silently towards where he'd parked his Jeep but he stopped long before he got to it.

"Erica said that if this continued, you'd have to kill her." Stiles' words stopped Derek's steps away. "But you didn't even attack her just now, you defended yourself."

"It gets harder and harder for me to stop her when she's like that. If Boyd and Isaac hadn't been there, I'm not sure I would have been able to just defend myself." His fists clenched and Stiles wondered if his claws were stuck in his palm. "If it happens on the full moon, I'll have no choice but to kill her." 

Stiles stepped forward and it was enough to jerk Derek out of his trance. He released his clenched fists and stared at Stiles.

"There has to be something else you can do, something... what if it isn't a backlash from the mind control but what if they are still in control? The alpha that put the spell on me. They were all connected which means that he could still have a sway over her." 

Derek threw his hands out in frustration.

"And I should let her live? If we can't kill the alpha by the full moon, his power over her might be more than I can break. She can't be left alive." 

"Yes, she can. She's just a teenager and--" Derek shot forward and grabbed Stiles' arm in a painfully tight grip.

"She's not just a teenager anymore Stiles. She's a werewolf. The moment she got the bite, she became responsible for--" This time Stiles interrupted Derek.

"Her getting the bite doesn't stop her from being a teenager Derek. She's sixteen years old, they all are. You started to bite teenagers but you conveniently forget that that's what they are. They are teenagers, teenage werewolves sure, but still teenagers. You want to turn them into warriors for your cause but you forget they are sixteen years old. Isaac wanted the bite to have power and control over his life, but he's still terrified. Did you see his face back there? And Boyd wanted to have friends and fit in but his only friends are us. And Erica? She wanted the seizures to go away; she wanted to feel good about herself. She still has seizures Derek. They aren't as bad as they used to be, but they are still there. They are teenagers. It might not be all that they are now, but that doesn't change the fact that they are."

His chest felt tight and his throat a little hoarse from yelling at Derek but once the words were out, he felt a little calmer. Derek still had his arm in a tight grip but he didn't look angry anymore. He looked lost.

"I have to protect them and I can't do that if Erica keeps losing it like this. She's not just a danger to me. You saw her attacking Isaac and Boyd because they were protecting me." 

Stiles did see that. He took a deep breath because Derek wasn't doing this just for him; he was trying to protect his pack. He wanted to save Erica, didn't want to kill her unless he had no other choice. So Stiles did what he was good at, he gave Derek another choice.

"Find the alpha. Let's stop focusing on Gerard; Chris Argent said that they would handle him. We need to pull all of our efforts into the alpha. Kill the alpha; kill the link between him and Erica. And me, of course, because I'd like to stop hearing how much of a disappointment I am from everyone I meet. And Finstock's fetishes. I've had enough of that for a lifetime." 

His chest still felt tight and he took a deep breath to try to dispel it. He liked that he couldn't hear the wolves unless he had permission or touched them. It meant that times like now, with Derek's fingers wrapped around his jacket clad arm but not touching him anywhere else, were perfectly silent.

Stiles opened his mouth with the intent of maybe asking Derek if he had any idea on how to find the alpha, but Derek moved forward until their lips were pushed together once more. It was different then the first kiss because they were only touching where Derek had Stiles' arm, but it was also not as forceful or painful. It was barely a brush of lips, once twice three times before Stiles opened his mouth and licked over Derek's lips. And then it was the slick slide of tongues against one another, against teeth and the top of their mouths, but they still didn't touch other than that.

He could feel a burst of Derek's thoughts, quick and rapid fire, words that barely formed and images that were gone before they were really there, but Stiles didn't pay any attention. Instead he pressed a little closer and tilted his head so that their mouths fit together completely.

"Why?" Stiles mumbled the word against Derek's mouth but the only answer he got was a low sound, of confusion or pain or arousal, before he reached up and grabbed the back of Stiles' head to pull him closer. Not that Stiles minded. Really.

\-------

"Stiles?" His dad's voice was in his ear as he rolled over and pulled his head out from under his pillow. It was still dark in his room and outside, but he couldn't see his alarm clock from his position so he didn't know what time it was. After him and Derek finished kissing, he'd gone straight home and straight to bed. They hadn't even talked about it which was actually starting to get a little confusing.

"Mm, what?" He rolled over and his eyes found his dad's face in the dark. He could make out just enough of his features to realize he was either upset or in pain. He started to sit up when he felt something else, someone else. A mind was present downstairs, human but... no.

Gerard. 

Why was his dad up here waking him up? His alarm clock said it was just after three am, no one in their right mind would think that this was a good time for a social call. Stiles briefly wondered if his dad had his gun on him but his dad was in his sleep clothes so that wasn't likely.

"Come downstairs." 

And then his dad was gone. Stiles looked around but his phone wasn't near him or even in his room. He'd left it in his jacket pocket which was downstairs. He swore as he stood up and walked down the stairs slowly. All he had to do was distract Gerard enough to grab his phone. His last call was to Isaac so that helped. He wouldn't even have to look at his phone as he called.

Gerard was in his dad's usual chair while his dad stood nearby. Gerard's lips were dark but not as stained as they had been when he kidnapped Stiles. He looked just like he had sitting behind the principal desk at school. Stiles felt a shiver run over him as he tried to compose himself. His jacket was hung on the back of the couch. If Stiles could sit there and pull the jacket on...

"What's going on?"

Stiles dad pointed to the couch and Stiles dropped himself right in front of his jacket. Now he'd just have to wait to pull it on so that it was subtle enough to not draw attention.

"Mr. Argent here thought he should bring it to my attention about some of the things my son has been doing lately." 

Stiles felt his stomach tighten as he looked at Gerard. His face was stern and fatherly, in a way that would have fooled anyone else. Stiles knew what this man was capable of.

"And he didn't think that three am was not the best time for that conversation?" His words made Gerard grin before he smoothed out his features so that his dad wouldn't see.

"Well your dad only got off work an hour ago and I thought the sooner I told him, the sooner everything would be fixed. I know as a father that I would want to know what my children were up to so I could help them." And wasn't that the case. Stiles had no doubt that if Gerard did know what Kate was doing, he fully approved of it. But if he didn't, he didn't mind hearing about it. The thought made Stiles sick.

"So what is it that I'm meant to be doing lately?" His dad shot him a look that clearly said his sass wasn't appreciated but Stiles couldn't help it. He shivered a little bit and started to fumble with his jacket. He had it pulled on and zipped up as if he was really cold and neither man looked suspicious. Now to call Isaac.

"Sheriff, are you aware of whom your son spins his time with?" Gerard paused long enough to let his dad shake his head and Stiles stuck his hands into his pockets and clasped his phone tight. "Scott McCall, obviously. Isaac Lahey, Erica Reyes, Vernon Boyd. Derek Hale."

Stiles tried not to move as his dad stared at him. He was aware of this of course, Stiles had mentioned all of them but Derek, but his dad knew anyways. He waited to see what would be said next as he slowly unlocked his phone.

"Your son and his friends broke into a friend of mine's apartment on Monday." Stiles wanted to scoff but he held it in. His dad looked at him, disappointment in his eyes, but thankfully Stiles couldn't hear his thoughts. Gerard wasn't done yet. "They also hang out around an old abandoned subway station. It's not safe down there; you know that as well as I do. These old buildings could collapse. And a place like that? Well if the electricity sparks, there could be a fire. I'd hate to think what would happen if someone was down there when that happened."

That made Stiles freeze, fingers poised over his touch pad. Was he threatening to start a fire? His dad didn't seem to catch the threat. He simply nodded.

"Mr. Argent, not that I'm not grateful for this and rest assured I will have my son and his friends pay your friend back for whatever was taken or damaged, but I might agree with my son in saying this could have waited."

Gerard's face contorted with anger and Stiles saw a flash of amber in his eyes that made Stiles' skin feel too tight and too cold. He tapped his screen and hoped that he was calling Isaac. If Gerard wasn't pleased with whatever was going to happen, who knew what might happen.

"Tell me Sheriff; are you very disappointed in your son? Have his lies started to eat away at your trust?" His dad's face hardened but Gerard kept talking. "Do you look at him and not know who you are looking at anymore?"

Stiles stood up and moved to stand closer to his dad. He couldn't fight Gerard as a human and probably wouldn't be able to fight him as whatever he was now, but Stiles wasn't going to take the chance that he would try to hurt his dad.

"Mr. Argent, perhaps you should come back in the morning and we can talk once we've all had a little sleep." His dad's voice was stern but Gerard didn't even blink. He simply stood up and pulled a gun out from his jacket. Stiles' dad stepped in front of him, arms spread in a way that should show they were harmless. Stiles pulled his phone out and saw that he had indeed called Isaac. Hopefully they were on their way.

"Put the gun down and let's not do something we'll regret." 

He watched as Gerard's eyes flashed at his dad's words. The gun was steady in his hand and it made Stiles feel sick.

"Oh, I won't regret this at all." Stiles moved before the trigger was even pulled, pushed his dad out of the way. They ran through the kitchen while Gerard fired at them as they ran down the hall and into the office on the first floor. His dad had a graze on his arm but it wasn't even bleeding. Stiles breathed as he pulled his phone out once more and saw that the call had ended. They heard Gerard barking an order to "go around the back" and then footsteps headed this way.

"Where's your service weapon?" His dad pointed upstairs and Stiles sighed. He'd used to keep one in the office but had stopped that when Stiles had accidentally found it and started to play cops and robbers with Scott that once. 

His dad grabbed Stiles' shoulder and pulled him into a hug. His thoughts were the same as the words that came out of his mouth.

"You're my son. I don't want you to lie to me, but I don't care. You're my son and I love you."

Stiles hugged his dad back hard before the lock on the office door was shot off. They ducked behind the desk and Stiles tried to think of something, anything, to stop this from happening. Just as he was about to stand up, offer himself up for his dad's protection, they were a yell coming from outside. It was amplified and tinny.

"This is the police, you're surrounded. Come out with your hands up."

Stiles leaned his head onto his dad's shoulder and took a deep breath. Isaac had called the Beacon Hills police instead of coming here in furry force, god Stiles could kiss him. He didn't want to have to explain werewolves to his father under duress. 

Moments later came the sound of the police force bursting into the house and taking Gerard down, although he had discarded his gun. As he was pulled from the house, he started to laugh.

"You think this is over? This is only the beginning!" Gerard was pushed into a cop car and driven away while Stiles and his dad gave their statements to the cops. Stiles informed them that he called Isaac who had heard Gerard threaten them and called the cops immediately. It was close enough to the truth.

Once they were done, his dad gave him a long look before pulling him into a tight hug.

"I have to go in to see this sorted out. You going to be okay here or do you want to come with me?" Stiles glanced around the yard and saw a flash of red from the corner of his eye behind a tree. He shook his head.

"No dad, I'll be fine."

His dad went into the house and changed into jeans and a shirt, pulled his jacket on as he slipped out of the house. Once he was gone, and so were the rest of the Beacon Hills police force, Stiles went back into the house and waited for the wolves to come in through the back door. Scott was there and he hugged Stiles tight before they all looked around at the bullet holes in the walls.

"God that was quick thinking Stiles, calling Isaac. They were all at the station so he called the cops and Boyd called me." 

Erica was slumped against the wall and looked as if she'd just woken up. Whatever Derek had done to her to make her pass out didn't see to have worn off yet. Isaac was close by her side as was Boyd. Derek let his eyes move around the house but they didn't look at Stiles at all.

"I say we call Chris, let him know that daddy dearest is being taken in. Maybe they can put him down the way they were going to put Isaac down." Isaac glared at Stiles but no one seemed opposed to the idea so Stiles dialed Chris' number and told him what was going on.

"He said they will take care of it." They all slumped in relief. One down, one to go.

Stiles put his head in his hands later in the night after Isaac, Erica, and Boyd had left. Scott had offered to stay the night but Stiles really wanted to be alone so he promised to see him at school and sent him on his way. It was only a few hours until school actually started so Stiles wasn't sure he'd even bother trying to sleep. He'd gone off less sleep before.

Derek was still there, although Stiles had barely noticed since he hadn't spoken since he'd gotten there except to tell his betas to go get some sleep. Stiles cleaned up some broken class and swept up the wooden splinters. When he bent down to pick up the lock from the office, he felt something twinge in his back. He reached back and felt where splinters of wood had gotten lodged there. It wasn't bad, a couple of small splinters, but they hurt when he moved.

"Hey, want to give me a hand with this?" Derek looked at what he was motioning to before he nodded and stood behind him. He pressed one hand on Stiles' spine to have him lean over while he skimmed his fingers over the area and started to pull out the bigger splinters.

"Why don't you train Scott? Just because he's not in your pack?" Stiles winced as a particularly large splinter was removed.

"It helps to train a newly turned beta if they are under my control. You've seen the way Isaac, Boyd, and Erica react with me. With Scott, I couldn't force him into submission. He'd have to trust me and he doesn't." 

And really, Scott was right; it was like no one trusted anyone in this group. He sighed and tried to relax as Derek pulled his shirt up to look at the other splinters. They were silent for a while until Stiles asked something else.

"Did you mean to bite Allison's mom?" He felt Derek stiffen behind him, his fingers dug into Stiles' hips painfully for a moment before he felt Derek sigh.

"Scott was dying and the wolfsbane was slowing me down. When she attacked, I had to defend myself. I didn't do it maliciously; I was just trying to protect Scott and myself. I regret that it happened because it didn't need to but I don't regret protecting myself and the wolves." 

Stiles held in a shiver as Derek ran his hand down Stiles' back to make sure all of the splinters were out. His other hand still pressed on Stiles' spine to keep him hunched over. The other hand ran over the small wounds until he found one last splinter.

"When Scott and I dug up your sister's grave, she was in wolf form until I unraveled the wolfsbane spiral thing. Can all werewolves turn into that or is it an alpha thing?" This time Derek's fingers actually felt like they were trying to hurt him as he dug into the flesh to get to the splinter. 

"Born werewolves have the ability once they reach maturity, although not all can. Peter couldn't. Each alpha form reflects the person. Peter's was large and distorted because his mental state was corrupted. Laura's... Laura's was sleek and strong."

Once the splinter was out, Derek dropped his hands and Stiles turned around so that he was eye to eye with Derek. He never really noticed that they were the same height before. 

"What about you?" Derek narrowed his eyes at Stiles' question.

"I'm smaller than Peter but I'm stronger." 

Stiles shook his head because although he just realized he hadn't seen Derek in all his alpha glory yet, that wasn't what he meant. He tried not to break eye contact as he spoke next.

"Can you change into a wolf? Like Laura?" Stiles swallowed after he said her name because it felt heavy on his tongue. Derek closed his eyes but nodded.

"I don't, but I can if I wanted to. Maybe I can't anymore. It's been a long time." 

Stiles reached up and touched Derek's cheek, fingers feather light. 

"Why can't I hear your thoughts clearly when you touch me? It's all whispers or so quick I don't catch it."

Derek stepped closer, the stubble on his cheek scratching against Stiles' palm. He pressed his hands against Stiles' hips and held him still in front of him. Not that Stiles was even thinking about going anywhere else.

"Every person's mind is different Stiles. Why, do you want to read my mind?" 

His mouth was so close that Stiles just had to lean forward a bit to touch it. The hand on Derek's cheek slipped backwards to cup the back of his neck and pull him in closer. When they pulled apart, Stiles couldn't help but whisper so as to not break the mood completely.

"I can never tell what you're thinking, what you want." 

Derek made a noise in the back of his throat, a brief hum, before he leaned forward to capture Stiles' lips once more. Their mouths fit together perfectly and Stiles fisted his hand in Derek's shirt to drag him closer, backing up until his back was against the wall. That was a good enough answer for now.

\-------

Stiles wasn't sure what surprised him more when he woke up, that he actually woke up which meant he'd gone to sleep or that Derek was beside him in the bed. He hadn't meant to fall asleep and he didn't remember it very well. They kissed for a while longer until Stiles started to slump and Derek dragged him up to bed. He'd fallen face first into the mattress and that was all he remembered. Now he woke with Derek behind him, only touching as much as required in the smaller bed. 

After a quick look at his clock, Stiles got up from the bed and turned the alarm off before it could go off. He scratched a hand over his back and winced when his nails caught on the scratches there. He dressed quickly and once his clothes were on, he leaned on the bed next to Derek and shook his shoulder. Derek's eyes opened as if he'd been awake and Stiles felt a shiver go through his body at the thought that maybe Derek had watched him get dressed.

"You should probably leave before my dad comes home." His voice was hoarse and be rubbed a hand over his neck before he stood up fully. His fingers caught on his amulet and he yanked it a bit before he straightened up. 

Derek followed the movements until he too stood up and stretched, He shook the sleep from his body. His jacket hung from the back of Stiles' door and he pulled it on before he slipped his shoes on and tied them. Stiles watched in an almost detached way until Derek was set and ready to leave. Stiles still had about an hour before school started. He made sure he had his book bag and made his way to the door, followed closely by Derek. The house was still littered with bullet holes and it reminded Stiles that last night actually happened. Not that he had thought for a second that it hadn't. 

"Wasn't it your idea to focus on the alpha and not Gerard?" Derek's voice was almost teasing as he grabbed the poptart that Stiles tossed at him from the pantry. Stiles grabbed one for himself before he shut the pantry door.

"Yeah yeah yeah, shut up. Hopefully Chris Argent will take care of it so we really can focus on the alpha." He tore open the poptart package and took a bite out of both of them at once while he spoke. Derek rolled his eyes and made his way to the back door.

"I'll text you if anything comes up." Derek opened the door and Stiles somehow found himself with his fingers curled around the edge of the door to keep Derek from leaving.

"Are we going to talk about this?" It wasn't that he cared that they kept randomly making out, honestly he really approved of it. He just wanted to know why it was happening. 

Derek eyed him thoughtfully before he leaned forward and captured Stiles' lips in a light kiss. He didn't press forward, didn't move other than to slide his lips over Stiles' a few times. That touch was just enough for Stiles to get a quick glimpse into Derek's mind. It came as a series of images of their time together before, in the police car, in the car when he'd been shot at and then the vet, the pool, paralyzed on the ground because of Jackson, Derek killing the alpha that was going to kill Stiles.

The images came to a stop as Derek pulled back. He let his eyes roam over Stiles' face before he turned around and slipped out of the house. Stiles shook his head a bit and frowned.

"That doesn't count as talking about it!"

He didn't hear a reply so he shut and locked the door before he went to the front door. He locked that behind him as he slipped out and went to his Jeep. He finished the poptart as he drove, eyes peeled for anything suspicious but nothing jumped out at him. When he pulled into the parking lot of the school, Scott was on the front steps to wait for him.

"You hear from your dad about anything yet?" Stiles had barely stepped out of the Jeep when Scott started to pester him with questions so he shook his head and jumped down. He swung his bag over his shoulder and headed into the school.

"No, I figure he'd text me if something had happened. Like Gerard accidentally letting them know that werewolves exist and that most of the people I associate with are such creatures? I think he'd probably want to talk if that's what happened."

They went their separate ways after Scott asked again if Stiles was okay. Erica was at their usual table, her eyes glazed and red like she'd been crying. Stiles sat beside her and touched her arm, tried not to show how much it bothered him that she flinched away from the touch. Although Derek hadn't really agreed to anything last night before Gerard came over, he was sure that they were going to find some other way to fix this rather than to kill Erica. 

"I talked to Derek." She looked up from her book and frowned.

"About what?" They each raised their hands when the teacher called their names and Stiles waited until she was asking if anyone had questions about their exam the next day before he leaned over to talk again.

"You don't have to worry about Derek killing you. We're going to figure it out."

He reached over and touched her hand and she surprised him by not pulling away. Instead there was a flash, images in such a rush that it made Stiles dizzy. Before she was turned, the actual bite in the morgue, the torture, her kissing Boyd, her kissing Derek, her sinking her claws into Allison's leg.

He pulled his hand away, eyes wide as he stared at Erica. She shook her head and pulled her sweater sleeves over her hands as she grabbed her pencil to give her something to do. He'd never seen something like that, not even in the quick fire way Derek's thoughts come. It felt purposeful, like she was showing him those things instead of letting him hear her thoughts.

It also threw him for a loop that she apparently kissed Derek at some point. He couldn't really tell if it was a mutual thing, could just see the kiss and how Derek had basically been holding her up. He shook his head and tried to focus on the questions his teacher was addressing about the final.

It wasn't that he was jealous because she looked dolled up in a way she hadn't been since before the alphas, but he was curious. When had they kissed? Why had they kissed? Who started it? Who ended it? He was curious, simply curious.

Okay, and maybe a little jealous.

\-------

Between classes an office aid approached Stiles and asked him to follow her. Isaac and Boyd had shot him a look as he drifted away from them but he shrugged as he made his way through the throngs of people and up to the office. Their new principal ushered him into her office before she stepped out. His dad was in a chair, his head in his hands, and he stood up when Stiles walked in.

"Stiles, I'm sorry for pulling you out of classes like this. Listen. Gerard Argent died last night. The cop that escorted him said that he started to clutch at his chest and then he was dead. He had terminal cancer."

Stiles felt a surge of relief go through him but he tried not to show it because that would probably worry his dad more than any other reaction. Instead he looked down and wondered if Derek knew, if Stiles would be the one to tell him if he texted him the moment he was out of the office.

"It's over." His dad clasped his arm before he pulled him forward into a tight hug. Stiles returned it and tried not to stiffen as his dad's inner voice started to drift into focus.

_"It is over. The man was crazy. I don't care what my son has done. He's my son."_

Stiles pulled back and smiled but his dad's face was stern once more.

"We'll talk about you and your friends breaking into apartments when you get home. No one has pressed charges or filed a report or else I might have to arrest you." That gave Stiles until the end of the school day to come up with a good lie.

He was tired of lying to his dad but sometimes he had to. He hugged his dad once more, an apology he'd never be able to voice, and left the office. He was late to his next class but the teacher seemed to expect it. He had a final in that class but it was over quickly and while they waited for the bell to ring, they were all allowed to do whatever they wanted.

Stiles pulled his phone out and shot a quick text to everyone.

**Gerard died last night, "natural causes".**

He got a few responses from some of the betas about how they were happy they didn't have to deal with him anymore. He was just about to send Derek a personalized text when one buzzed in from him.

**Guess Argent did take care of his dad**

Stiles thought about it for a moment before he sent a quick text.

**Does this mean we can focus on the alpha now? For Erica's sake if not for my own?**

He grabbed his bag and shrugged it onto his shoulder when the bell rang. He smiled at a few people that he passed and checked his phone when he got to the lunch room.

**We will figure something out**

Which wasn't a very comforting text message but it was better than nothing. He got his food and sat down at their usual table. Lydia and Jackson came in next with their food and sat beside Stiles. Jackson was complaining about something, his neighbor apparently had mowed his grass when Jackson was working out and it had bothered him. Then he started in on how Derek kept pushing him to join them in their run down death trap to train. Lydia wasn't listening but Stiles was.

"It's for your own good you know. He can teach you how to control it." Technically Jackson was part of Derek's pack but if he didn't acknowledge it, it wouldn't work the way it did with the other betas. Jackson rolled his eyes.

"I don't need his help, he needs my help. He has the three messed up amigos, he doesn't need me." 

Stiles pushed his tray away and focused completely on Jackson.

"It's not about needing you, Jackson; it's about you needing him. And no matter what you said, you do need him. You couldn't control your emotions before the bite, now you're a ticking time bomb." Stiles couldn't help as incredulity creeped into his voice. Jackson was openly glaring at him but no one had noticed yet. Except Lydia who seemed a little hesitant to interrupt.

"What does his help matter? He doesn't know what he's doing. Erica looks worse than she did before anyone knew who she was, Boyd speaks less than he did before the bite, and the only good thing that came for Isaac didn't matter because his dad died before Isaac got a chance to stand up for himself." 

That made Stiles laugh and he pushed back a little so he could glare right back at Jackson.

"His dad didn't die, douchewad, you killed him. Or do you forget the fact that you became some psychopath's lizard bitch for a while there?" Lydia opened her mouth to protest but Jackson grabbed Stiles' arm and pulled him from the room. Somehow no one noticed, but Stiles wasn't trying to draw attention. He wasn't scared of Jackson, not with Lydia right behind them calling his name.

"That wasn't my fault. But--" Stiles yanked his arm out of Jackson's grip and pushed him into the lockers at the far end of the hall.

"You know what is worse than you becoming the giant angry killing lizard from hell? The fact that you knew Isaac's dad was beating him and you didn't do anything!" Jackson pushed him back a little harder than Stiles was expecting and his back met the lockers with a little force. Lydia reached out as if to grab Jackson's arm but he stepped away from her.

"He didn't matter to me, okay? What do I care if someone's dad beats the shit out of them? It had nothing to do with me." 

Stiles stepped forward and hissed with as much venom as he could muster, "You're cold blooded and you disgust me." The words were barely out of his mouth before Jackson pushed him against the lockers again. Stiles didn't know what happened because the next thing he knew, Jackson was holding his jaw and few feet away. Lydia was beside him, her eyes wide and not straying from Stiles. He looked down at his hand and saw that it was red along the knuckles.

He just punched Jackson for the second time. He shook his hand out and pushed away from the lockers. Lydia took a step towards him and he heard her apologize as he kept walking.

"Try to keep your bitch on a tighter leash Lydia." 

He heard a growl follow him down the hall but Stiles didn't care. He wasn't going to break his back trying to help Jackson if he didn't care to help himself.

\-------

"Did you really punch Jackson?" Isaac's voice didn't startle Stiles who was propped up against his Jeep with his hand clenched in a fist. The final bell had rung and he'd gone straight there. He hadn't figured out what he was going to tell his dad yet about them breaking into an apartment.

"Yeah. He was being a dick about you and your dad so I sort of snapped at him and when he pushed me, I punched him." Stiles was pretty proud of it too. It might not have hurt Jackson but he did it and that's all that mattered to him.

Isaac grabbed Stiles' arm and squeezed it a little.

"You know, you might technically be part of Scott's pack, but I think you're also part of ours." 

Stiles had thought about it, thought about how much time he spent with Derek's pack and how they all helped each other. He might be the bridge between Scott and Derek's pack which meant that Stiles was part of both. And now that Allison wasn't part of it, it meant that Scott and Stiles were alone and it just didn't feel right.

"Could be worse I guess." 

Isaac laughed and lightly knocked his shoulder into Stiles'. It took him a moment to realize that it was almost over. They needed to catch and kill the alpha but then it would be done. They would be done fighting for now, Stiles wouldn't hear everyone's thoughts, Erica would be back to normal.

It was obviously that thought process that made everything go wrong.

\------

Friday after classes, the last class of the school year, Stiles collapsed onto the couch with a sigh. His dad had gotten called away for work, had to drive to one of the neighboring cities to give his advice on the attacks, but had promised Stiles they'd talk when he got home. Now that school was over, Stiles would be around his dad a lot more. That meant he would be subjected to the never ending thought stream of the person that was most disappointed in him.

They really needed to find the alpha.

He rolled over onto his stomach and contemplated burying his face into the couch cushion when his phone started to ring. He fumbled for it and checked the name, Boyd, before he answered it.

In the time that Stiles had known Boyd, he'd always known him as the strong and silent type. He smiled when he was amused or happy but mostly he just sat there with a very blank look on his face. Stiles had seen Boyd stop two guys from fighting by simply touching their shoulders. And that was before he'd gotten the bite. So that was why when Stiles mumbled hello into the phone and he heard Boyd's panicked voice, he sat upright and knew something was wrong.

"Slow down, I can't understand you. What about Erica?" He heard Boyd take a deep breath and when he spoke again, his voice was almost normal if just pitched a little higher than usual.

"We can't find her. She was supposed to meet me after school and she never did. I went by her house and her dad said she wasn't home yet. It's not like her Stiles; she's always with one of us."

Stiles was on the move before Boyd was even finished speaking. He grabbed his wallet and keys, made sure he locked the door, and jumped into his Jeep.

"I'm on my way, you're at the train station right?" Once he was sure that's where they were, Stiles hung up and tried not to speed on his way there. He had seen Erica in their first class together. She'd looked normal, or as normal as she got these days, but he didn't remember seeing her after their last class together. Usually he saw her on his way to the parking lot. Did the alpha get her? Did he assert his control and make her leave? Was she okay? The more Stiles thought about it the more he was sure that that's what happened. And if that was the case, they might be in trouble.

He stumbled down the stairs into the station and was greeted by all of the wolves there looking as if they were caged animals. Derek was standing stiff nearest to the subway car while the others paced.

"If the alpha has her, he's going to know everything she does. Where we live, where we meet. If he doesn't already know." 

They started to draw up a plan, marked off places on a hand drawn map that they had already checked. Jackson was in the corner not participating, his face stormy and his body language screaming for them all to leave him alone. Derek must have used his control over Jackson to get him to help. He half expected Lydia to be there somewhere but she wasn't.

While they discussed the next place to check, Stiles heard his phone go off. Everyone shot him a look as he pulled it out and he frowned since he didn't recognize the number. Maybe it was his dad calling on a phone from the road.

"Hello?" 

"Stiles? It's... me." Erica's voice was small but it sent a jolt through him. He thumbed the speaker button and held the phone out in front of him.

"Erica, where are you?" There were a few wounded noises coming from Isaac but Boyd reached over and grasped his forearm and they stopped. Not that Boyd looked much better. 

"I wasn't taken. Didn't Boyd get my note? I ran away." 

Not again. He saw Boyd's face shutter before he started to phase. Derek gave him a look and he turned fully human except for his eyes. The last time they ran away, they'd been captured by alphas and Erica had gone through hell. Stiles took a deep breath before he spoke again.

"You have to come home Erica. It's okay, you just--" She cut him off.

"No, it's not okay. I can't be there; I can't put the pack in danger like this. I'll stay away until the alpha is dead. I'm a danger to the pack, to Derek. I don't want to hurt him." Her voice sounded stronger but it didn't make the uncertainty disappear. Stiles glanced to where Derek was but his face hadn't changed during the entire call.

"We're going to end this and you'll be able to come home. Don't get too comfortable wherever you are because you're coming home soon."

She was quiet until she mumbled that she loved all of them before she quickly hung up. Stiles listened to the dial tone before he finally thumbed off the call and locked his phone again. At least they knew she was safe. Boyd looked a little more in control but everyone else's faces looked conflicted. Scott kept his eyes on Derek who was not showing any emotion. Jackson even looked affected by what was going on. Isaac's face was pale but he kept his features schooled. He must have learned that from Derek.

Stiles slipped his phone into his pocket and went over to the map on the table. The apartment building was circled twice but a large black X was through it since it'd been checked and was empty now. The town was littered with big black and red Xs that marked the places they'd checked. It didn't leave much. Stiles ran his fingers through the town before he shook his head.

"We have to make him come to us. And by us, I mean me. He has a connection with me right? There has to be a way I can make him come to me with it." Everyone shook their head collectively which was both amusing and frustrating.

"That's a last resort. We'll check the last few places on the map and then we'll think about it. Okay everyone, stay on your usual routes and keep your phone handy. Let's go."

Everyone left the station except for Stiles and Derek who went over to grab his jacket before they started up the stairs. Outside the sky was starting to tint a little darker on the horizon.

"You should get home. We'll call you if we find something."

Stiles crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Derek. It didn't even bother him; he simply blinked and returned the look. Finally Stiles couldn't keep up the staring contest and he looked away.

"When did you and Erica kiss?" He looked up as he spoke and saw that Derek looked a little irritated.

"Really? You want to do this right now?" And to that, Stiles shrugged because now was a bad time but now was also possibly the last time for a normal conversation for a while. He wanted some answers. Derek rolled his eyes and scrubbed his hand over his face.

"It wasn't any time recently." He said it with a lot of force as if saying that Stiles should know that and maybe he should, but he wanted to make sure.

"Did she kiss you, did you kiss her?" It was a little disconcerting that Derek hadn't even asked how Stiles knew about it but Derek didn't seem interested so Stiles didn't say.

"She kissed me." 

That made Stiles tilt his head, almost teasing.

"And you kissed her back?" The leer that Stiles' words caused wasn't playful; it seemed more mocking than anything.

"An attractive person kissed me. Of course I kissed back. I at least had enough strength to stop it if I didn't want it." 

That struck a cord and Stiles stepped a little closer, the teasing completely gone. He lowered his head and took a deep breath.

"That's what you think I'm doing?" The question made Derek's face soften and he sighed. He ran one of his hands through his hair.

"Is that the last question?" Stiles thought about it before he held up one finger to say he had one left. He waited until Derek nodded before he asked it.

"Was it after she was with the alphas?" Derek's face changed when Stiles asked the question, closing off a little. Stiles was about to ask what was wrong but Derek spoke.

"No, it was during training for the kanima. Are you satisfied? I have work to do." 

There was something cold and heavy in Derek's voice that Stiles didn't like. He moved forward, hand outstretched, but Derek dodged it and started towards the alley on the side of the building they were in. It stung a little but Stiles brushed it off. He got into his Jeep and gave it a few minutes before he drove home. The entire time he thought about Derek's face, the way Derek had gone out of his way to miss Stiles' touch, and tried to figure out what it meant. It didn't matter what that meant because he didn't even know what it meant that they sometimes made out and apparently Derek felt comfortable enough to sleep in his bed.

The alpha really needed to learn to use his words.

When he pulled into the house, he was surprised to see Scott on his porch. He waved as he slipped out of the Jeep and sat on the porch next to him.

"What's the matter, I thought you were supposed to be looking for the alpha?" Scott nodded, his eyes hard as he stared out into the yard.

"I don't like it Stiles. The alpha should have made a move by now. Besides going after you, he hasn't done anything. And why go after you anyways? No offense of course." Scott brushed his shoulder against Stiles' in a form of apology and Stiles shrugged it off. He'd wondered that too. The only answer he came up with was that he was a human and therefore an easy target.

"It's psychological warfare. He wants you messed up over it, distracts you. Just focus on finding him, not on his plans." 

Scott opened his mouth to say something when his phone dinged in his pocket. He pulled it out and frowned as he read it. He glanced at Stiles and then read the text again. 

"It's from Derek."

Stiles pulled out his phone but there wasn’t a text there. He tried to read over Scott's shoulder but he pocketed his phone and stood up. Stiles stood up too and watched as Scott backed away a little.

"What did it say?" Stiles watched as Scott tried to smile, apologetic and a little worried. 

"That we should stay away from you. That there is a possibility you're under control of the alpha." 

Which answered Derek's change of heart earlier but it was crazy. The only thing that happened to him was the spell that backfired so that he could read minds. He was completely in control of himself.

"Come on, you know me, you'd know if I was different. Am I acting like Erica?" That made Scott pause but he shook his head and then shrugged.

"She's a werewolf Stiles; she acted that way because she was fighting the urge to kill the alpha."

Scott stepped off of the porch, his back to Stiles for just an instance, but then he faced him again. His best friend was scared of him. The thought made Stiles a little sick to his stomach but also a little proud. He was also very angry.

"Dude, come on really? Since when do you listen to Derek anyways?" And with that question, Stiles saw Scott's face twist into something that looked painful. It made Stiles pause because there was something there, something he didn't know.

"Since I accepted him as my alpha."

What. No, really, what? When had... Stiles' face must have showed his confusion and hurt and betrayal because Scott looked ashamed. He bent his head but kept his eyes on Stiles.

"After you were kidnapped. He said it would help keep us connected so I'd know what was going on. The pack doesn't know yet, we don't want to change the dynamic. It's supposed to be our wild card if the alpha attacks. I guess... I guess I shouldn't have told you."

That felt like a physical punch and Stiles staggered a little, hands pressed to the door at his back. Not only did Scott join Derek's pack, but he didn't tell him. He could understand it a little, that it was supposed to be a secret so that the alpha wouldn't expect it, but now Scott... 

And really, wasn't he thinking about how much Scott needed training? Now he'd get it. Except nothing was right. Derek had pulled the plug and was slamming the door on Stiles for the fight because he thought that Stiles was under the control of the alpha. Which meant... he probably thought... that Stiles was only letting them kiss because either Derek was attractive or he was under control of the alpha and there was an ulterior motive.

Scott apologized as he ran off into the woods and left Stiles reeling on the porch, mind torn between everything that was going on. He wasn't just put at the kiddie table, he was removed from the meal altogether. He swore as he grabbed his phone and fumbled with it before he opened up a text message.

**You're an asshole.**

He sent it to Derek and then shoved his phone into his pocket. He wasn't helpless and he wasn't possessed. If they didn't believe him, he'd just have to prove it. He hopped back into his Jeep and sped down the streets of Beacon Hills until he got to the vet's office. There was a car in the lot so Stiles waited in his car, fingers tapping to the beat of a song on the radio. Once the man left, a cat in his arms, Stiles grabbed the vial from the glove compartment and walked into the office. He flipped the sign and snuck into the back where Deaton was washing off his table.

"Ah, Stiles. To what do I owe the pleasure?" 

Stiles put the vial on the table and stared at Deaton.

"I can capture the alpha." Deaton stared at the vial and then looked at Stiles with a frown.

"Are the werewolves aware that you--" Stiles held up his hand and stopped the question.

"They think I'm being controlled by the alpha. You went behind Derek's back to help Scott get Gerard, now you are going to help me." 

His voice was stern and usually Stiles would never talk to an adult like this, especially not one he actually respected like Deaton, but he was done playing nice. He was going to capture the alpha, let the werewolves do the actual killing, and then he was going to sit Derek down and have a long talk about what was and wasn't nice to do to the guy you were making out with. A hint, telling his friends that he was possessed wasn't nice to do.

Deaton turned to the little cabinet in the corner. He unlocked it and sorted through it before he pulled out the same two types of liquids from before. He pulled out a small container of finely crushed green powder. He put them all out on the table and he looked at Stiles.

"You know this is dangerous right?" Deaton kept his eyes level with Stiles' when he asked and Stiles didn't blink, simply raised an eyebrow and looked down at the things assembled before him.

"I'll provide you with some mountain ash and wolfsbane. Go into the woods, the same place the spell was put on you. Mix the two liquids with this powder. It'll have the opposite effect from before; it will pull the alpha to you. We will mix the stuff in this vial with the mountain ash and wolfsbane. The moment he is close enough, hold your hand out and will the powder to cover him. You have to believe it will work Stiles and not be afraid. That is very important, do not be afraid. It will hold him down long enough for you to circle him with a mixture of mountain ash and wolfsbane. From there, Derek should be able to handle him."

Stiles went through the plan in his head before he nodded, fingers tight as they clutched the amulet on his neck. 

"Let's do it."

Deaton let Stiles mix the contents in his vial with some mountain ash and wolfsbane before he put the new mixture back into the vial. He wouldn't be able to mix the liquids with the green powder until he was out in the woods to keep it potent. Deaton handed Stiles another black trashbag filled with the crushed mountain ash and wolfsbane to be used in the circle around the alpha once he was disabled. Stiles put it all in his passenger seat and shook Deaton's hand.

"You'll let me know how it goes?" Deaton sounded firm, like he was asking but in all reality he was telling Stiles to let him know. Stiles nodded and tucked his hands into his pockets to fish out his keys.

"Wish me luck." Stiles said it as a joke but Deaton's voice was anything but joking.

"You'll need it."

\-------

The drink was just as disgusting as Stiles' remembered, except with the added benefit of a gritty taste from the powder that didn't fully dissolve. His tongue felt heavy as he swallowed convulsively to keep it from coming up again. And he couldn't help but wonder at the health problems of drinking that stuff as often as he apparently was. Once it was down, he felt a pull in his stomach only he didn't feel the need to follow it. The alpha was coming to him.

He would know that Stiles wasn't under his control, he would probably expect a trap. That was why Stiles had pushed his back to the tree that had given him the concussion and waited. His chest felt tight, like the connection between him and the alpha was something solid and pressed behind his ribs, but he waited and kept himself aware. The trash bag was under his jacket beside him and the vial was in his palm with the cork mostly removed to make it easier.

Suddenly his chest felt loose once more and the pull wasn't there. It hadn't felt like it faded but then there was a figure in front of him and he stood up, his shoulders straight. He wasn't afraid, he was prepared, and this would work.

He kept saying it to himself as the figure came closer.

"There is something very different about you. That's why I picked you, a human that fought harder than the werewolves. That amulet you wear, I wasn't expecting it." 

Stiles knew that if he hadn't expected the amulet, he definitely wasn't expecting what was about to happen. He uncorked the bottle and held it up. He willed it to cover the alpha, knew that it would happen. He watched as the powder rose and suddenly covered the alpha, coating him from head to toe. Stiles was quick to grab the trash bag. After he tore a hole in the bottom, he circled the werewolf who had fallen to his knees and was scraping at his face to try to get the powder off. Stiles circled him twice so that it was stronger and he sat back. 

He did it. He really did it.

He pumped his fist in the air and then scrambled back as the alpha started to shift. The circle held but he needed to get Derek out there as quick as he could. He pulled his phone out and called Derek. It went to his voicemail so Stiles called back. It went to his voicemail again. Stiles took a deep breath because he hadn't thought that Derek would actually actively ignore him and he called one last time.

"What?" Stiles took a deep breath at Derek's cruel tone and angled the phone away so that maybe Derek wouldn't hear the alpha's growls.

"Listen, I'm in the woods where I met the alpha for the first time. I have him trapped. It'd be really great if you could get out here soon though."

He heard a deep growl and a quick glance told him it came from the phone, not from his trapped alpha. He sent a quick text to the pack, letting them know he had the alpha trapped in the woods where they had fought the first time. He slipped the phone into his pocket and thought about making another circle around the alpha who was fully shifted, big and burly and tinged red in a way that made Stiles think of blood, but he didn't move. This could work, it would work. Derek would get there and kill the alpha and Stiles will have not only saved their collective ass, again, but he will have proven that he wasn't under some sort of mind control spell and Erica could come home.

He turned around when he heard a noise and there was Derek, Boyd and Isaac behind him, eyes red and canines elongated. Only he was headed for Stiles, not for the alpha. He took a step back and then another.

"Dude, what are you doing? I brought you here to kill the alpha, not me!" He stumbled over something and looked down to see that his feet were inside of the protective circle. He swore and tried to jump back but there was suddenly a mutated clawed hand at his throat, another wrapped around his torso with the claws pushed into his side. It hurt but they weren't deep, not yet. The alpha needed him.

"Oh, it wasn't a trap for you, but it worked all the same. You didn't trust the human, that's why you came." The alpha's voice was mostly a growl and Stiles wanted to scream, wanted to do some damage. Derek's face was still warped in a snarl only Stiles was pretty sure it was now aimed at himself and the alpha rather than at Stiles.

 _"I can kill the human and distract the pack enough that the will be easy to kill. I just need him to break the circle."_

Stiles' eyes widened and he looked down at the circle. All it would take is his foot to be kicked out at the circle would be broken. He struggled to keep still as the alpha jostled him, his claws sinking further into Stiles' sides. This wasn't going to happen, not like this. He made sure he had Derek's attention and he jerked his head at the circle, making it look like he was still struggling, getting claws pushed deeper for his troubles. Derek's eyes widened and he nodded minutely. His eyes then narrowed on Stiles.

"You have my permission."

It took Stiles a moment to realize what he was thinking. Stiles blinked and it hit him in full force with his eyes closed.

_Stiles breaks the circle as Scott breaks in from the back and attacks the alpha. Isaac pulls Stiles out of the alpha's grip and Derek kills the alpha._

Stiles nodded to show that he saw it. He took a deep breath, knew that just because that was the plan didn't mean it would happen that way, and he kicked out. The circle broken, he heard and felt Scott launch from somewhere behind them and attack the alpha. He staggered forward, sliced his claws upwards and Stiles jammed his elbow into his throat as he pushed off. Isaac pulled Stiles out of the fray and supported him a little ways off. Boyd stood nearby, a defense and secondary offense if needed, but Derek broke the alpha's neck without a pause. The sight and sound was enough to make Stiles feel sick.

"Shit, Stiles you're bleeding a lot." Stiles looked down and pulled up his ruined shirt. There was claw marks, deeper in some areas than others, and slumped against Isaac fully. 

"My dad's going to be pissed." 

He slumped downwards, taking Isaac with him until he was on the ground. Twigs poked him in the back but he didn't care. He wasn't dying, but the adrenaline had worn off and now the pain was there. He blinked and suddenly Derek was there too, hovered next to him with a grim look as he peered at the wound. He poked at the edges and Stiles half-heartedly slapped his hand away. He wasn't happy with Derek just then. In fact he would really like to punch Derek the way he had punched Jackson, but his hand had hurt for the entire day and still throbbed if he clenched it too tight.

Derek pressed his hand just above the wound and it felt as if his skin was cold. There was a pull and it made Stiles' head swim and then it was gone. But so was most of the pain. He sat up and shook his head to clear it.

"That was creepy but handy. Now hopefully I'll survive the blood loss until we get to Deaton."

Someone pressed Stiles' balled up jacket against the wound and they all went through the woods until they got to where the Jeep was parked. Next to it was Derek's car which didn't make sense but Stiles wasn't about to complain. He winced as he hopped into the passenger seat of the Jeep, somewhat surprised when Derek climbed into the driver's seat. 

"Just gonna leave the dead body of a werewolf in the woods?" Stiles wasn't expecting an answer and he wasn't disappointed as he was gifted with nothing but silence.

"Why was the Camaro here? I thought you all were doing foot patrols?" He still wasn't expecting an answer but this time he was surprised.

"Deaton called me."

Which made sense. Stiles rubbed a hand over his face and peered down at his side. It wasn't bleeding too much anymore at least.

"I'm not going to get turned by this am I?" Derek cast him a quick look and shook his head.

"No, you can't get killed by a scratch. You can get backlash from their psyche or even sick, but he's dead so you won't have to worry about that." Which explained a lot about Jackson at the beginning of all the crazy.

However that brought on something else. Stiles fingered the amulet and lifted it up. It came off without a hitch and Stiles sighed. He then looked over at Derek and stared at him. He still technically had permission to read his mind but he couldn't. It was gone.

"Peace and quiet."

They pulled into the vet and Scott helped him into the office while the others stayed behind. Deaton had already cleared off the table for Stiles when he got in there. He tossed the amulet onto the far counter with a brief glare before he settled down onto the table.

"Go easy on me here doc, I really hate needles."

\------

"We need to talk." 

Stiles looked up from the book he was reading and tried not to wince. His dad's face was stern and definitely not happy. In his hand was the torn up shirt that Stiles had thrown away, covered in blood and twigs and dirt.

"Uh, I can explain?"

\-------

**So Scott. I might have told my dad about werewolves and kanimas and magic spells and all that other fun stuff.**

**Shit. How'd it go?**

**There was yelling and then there was silence and then there was bourbon and then there was laughter.**

**Is everything okay? Do you need him to talk to my mom about it? She's offered before you know.**

**Yeah that might be good. Maybe when he's sober. I asked if I was grounded and he said I'm lucky I'm not shipped to the funny farm.**

**So are you grounded?**

**Honestly dude, I think he's just happy I'm alive. Which hey, so am I.**

**Me too Stiles**

\-------

"We need to talk."

This time Stiles didn't even hide his wince as he looked up. Derek was in his doorway. His dad had only just left so he must have waited until the cruiser was out of sight before he broke into their back door. Stiles sighed and put the book down. At this rate, he'd never finish it.

"Shoot." Derek came into the room but didn't shut the door or move to sit down. He simply hovered.

"I'm not sorry for what I did. I did what I thought was best for the pack." 

Stiles put his bookmark into his book and stood up so he could face Derek evenly. They stared at each other and Stiles briefly wished he could still hear thoughts. He'd like to know what Derek was thinking just then. Not that the ability ever really helped with Derek. It usually only gave him more questions.

"No, you did what you did because I couldn't want to kiss you if I wasn't just doing it because you're attractive or because I was tricking you. That's it, isn't it? You thought I was tricking you?" He watched as Derek's face went through a myriad of different emotions as he spoke, watched as he swayed forward as if he couldn't help it.

"The first time was an accident." Derek's voice was calm but his face wasn't. Stiles stepped closer and shook his head.

"And the times after that?"

Derek's eyes dropped down to Stiles' mouth and he felt himself smile despite the situation. Instead of giving in, Stiles took a few steps back but didn't sit down. He wouldn't give ground on that front.

"Deaton called you when I left the office?" He wanted answers and he was going to get them. Even if he had to pry them out of Derek one at a time.

"He said you'd left maybe ten minutes before he called. I was almost there when you called me." 

Which made sense because in theory, Derek could have been all the way on the other side of the city when Stiles called him and if the alpha had broken the circle or something had gone wrong, it would have been bad. Stiles would have to thank Deaton for that. In hindsight, it made more sense.

"Why were you advancing on me then? Why not go after the alpha? Or did you just still think that I was a puppet?" This was something he really wanted to know. Derek didn't look like he wanted to answer but he finally gave in.

"I thought you might be under his control but I also wanted to get you out of the way. I didn't foresee you stepping back into the trap you so carefully laid."

Yeah, okay, that was stupid on Stiles' part. He couldn't know that Derek was just trying to get him out of the way. It worked in the end. Stiles might have tripped into the path of the alpha, might have some really gnarly scars for his trouble, but they succeeded. Erica was back, had barely left the pack since she'd come home. As far as Stiles knew, this was the first time Derek was out of her sight. She'd been very firm in her apologies, very grateful that they finished it and she no longer wanted to kill her alpha. Derek seemed pretty pleased by the news as well.

They were quiet, eyes locked every few seconds, before Stiles finally broke.

"The first time was an accident, so what does that make the times after that?" Derek's eyes widened at the question and dropped to Stiles' lips again.

"A mistake."

Those two words bounced around in Derek's head and made his stomach drop. He should have known. A noise escaped him, hurt and rejection and acceptance in a way he should be used to after the Lydia thing, but Derek took a step forward before Stiles could even pretend he wasn't upset anymore.

"You're sixteen." A breath was forced out of Stiles at that. It was a mistake because Stiles was sixteen. He could handle that if that's all it was.

"Is that the only problem?" Stiles moved forward as he asked the question, raised his hand and grabbed at Derek's sleeve. He held on to the leather sleeve and waited.

"Your dad won't approve. Scott will be unbearable." Derek twisted his hand until he could grab Stiles' hand and untangled it from his sleeve. Their fingers laced and Stiles took another step forward.

"Anything else?"

Derek's eyes were soft, crinkled in the corners, and Stiles took a deep breath before he leaned forward and pressed his mouth to Derek's. It was a soft kiss, a quick kiss, but Stiles kept his eyes open and watched as Derek's eyes fluttered shut for a moment.

"The pack will be unbearable. You'll be in danger a lot more. I'm difficult to be with."

Stiles laughed and wrapped his free arm around Derek's shoulders and pulled him in closer. When he spoke next, his words were slightly muffled by Derek's lips.

"We'll survive."

\-------

"So if Derek is our pack dad, does that make you our--"

"Erica, I swear to god, if you finish that sentence I will shoot you full of wolfsbane bullets myself."

\-------

"It's weird dude, really weird. I'm not judging you. I'm happy for you. Just try not to be affectionate in front of me."

"Oh no, I had to watch you and Allison be sickeningly affectionate. Payback is a bitch."

\-------

"Maybe he won't be as uptight if he's getting laid."

"Isaac, I can't believe you just... actually, you know, you might have the right idea there."

\-------

"I don't care."

"See Boyd, that's why you're my favorite."

\-------

The flowers were bright as ever, so Stiles placed the small bouquet he bought next to them. He sent Isaac a quick text message to thank him for it and then sat down. It was the end of summer, classes started in two weeks, so the ground was dry and hard under him. He skimmed his fingers over the headstone, brushed the dirt off of the top, and sighed.

"Everything is better now mom. The alphas are gone, Erica is back to normal, I can no longer hear people's thoughts, Gerard is gone. Dad trusts me again. He's a little wary about the whole werewolf thing but he's okay with it as long as we're safe. And we are. Deaton is teaching me a little more about magic properties and charms. It's pretty crazy really."

He pulled the amulet out of his pocket that had started his problems just a few months ago. The charms had been replaced and therefore would work now. He didn't wear it, kept it in his pocket now, but he kept it with him at all times. 

"Dad and I talk now. We talk about his work, what he allows at least. We're going to go camping the weekend before school starts. I'm thinking of breaking it to him on that trip that I'm kind of dating Derek Hale."

Things between the two of them had been good all summer. There hadn't been anything to draw their attention so they spent time together just relaxing. Stiles learned that Derek could joke and Derek learned that Stiles was really interested in math. They switched which one would pick a movie and which would pick what food to eat. They spent time with the pack and by themselves, each spent time with the pack without the other one present, kept everything balanced and okay. It had worked really well.

"You'd like Derek. He's wounded and broody but he's a good person. He still blames himself for the fire and he misses Laura a lot, but he's okay for the most part. He's not alone. The Hales might be gone but the pack won't let him be alone."

The Hales weren't all gone but Stiles hadn't seen Peter since the alphas first showed up. He'd stayed off to the side and it wasn't until a month ago that Derek explained why. He came back and while he did technically still have werewolf abilities, he would never be very strong. Even if he became an alpha again, he’d be too weak to survive. He operated as some sort of advice columnist for Derek but didn't show his face around the people that had tried (and succeeded) to kill him.

"He's a good guy and despite both of our flaws, we work." 

They were flawed, the both of them. Derek started pointless fights and Stiles overcompensated. Sometimes Derek was too hard on the pack and it left Stiles to play devil's advocate to make sure they all were happy in the end. It was exhausting but he was happy.

"Dad misses you. He's doing better though. I haven't let up on the healthy eating but I turn a blind eye to the fast food bags I see in his trash at work a little more often. Grandma called a few days ago. She was just checking in. She's good though, apparently she has a boyfriend at the nursing home. More than I wanted to know, but she's happy."

Stiles checked his watch and saw that he'd been out there for almost an hour. He skimmed his fingers over the headstone once more before he stood up and dusted of his pants.

"I miss you mom."

It took him a moment before he could actually turn and walk away. Some days he still blamed her but more often than not, he was coming to terms with the fact that it wasn't her fault and that there was nowhere to place the blame. He took a deep breath as he walked towards the lesser used parking lot. He nodded to the one other person in this part of the cemetery, an old man who came twice a week. Through the trees was the parking lot. The only car there was a black Camaro with an occupant who had a book in their lap but was probably very attuned to everything going on.

Stiles slid into the passenger seat and shut the door softly behind him. He let Derek finish the passage he was on, because he knew how irritated he got when he was interrupted and imagined it was the same for everyone. Once the book was closed though, Stiles leaned forward and pressed his mouth to Derek's. It was soft, a thank you.

"You good?" Derek's voice was warm and low, the way it usually was when Stiles was involved. He sighed into the kiss, into the shared air between them.

"I'm good."


End file.
